Ronaldo leads changed Portugal against Slovenia in Euro 2024 last 16

Frankfurt, Germany — Cristiano Ronaldo was not dropped by Portugal for the round-of-16 game this time.

Ronaldo is captaining Portugal and leading the attack picked by coach Roberto Martinez to face Slovenia on Monday in Frankfurt in the first knockout round of the European Championship.

At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Ronaldo was benched by then-coach Fernando Santos for the round-of-16 game against Switzerland. His replacement Gonçalo Ramos scored three times in a 6-1 win.

Ramos is on the bench on Monday with Ronaldo supported in attack by Rafael Leão and Bernardo Silva.

Martinez looks to have opted for a changed 4-3-3 formation, anchored by holding midfielder João Palhinha. Diogo Dalot had been playing in a three-man central defense.

Slovenia's 4-4-2 formation is led in attack by Benjamin Šeško, who was linked with a big-money move to Arsenal before extending his contract at Leipzig days before Euro 2024.

Šeško will be up against defender Pepe, 20 years older at age 41, and playing at his fifth Euros.

The winner will advance to face Belgium or France in the quarterfinals on Friday in Hamburg.

Teams:

Portugal: Diogo Costa, João Cancelo, Pepe, Rúben Dias, Nuno Mendes; Bruno Fernandes, João Palhinha, Vitinha; Bernardo Silva, Rafael Leão, Cristiano Ronaldo.

Slovenia: Jan Oblak, Žan Karničnik, Vanja Drkušić, Jaka Bijol, Jure Balkovec; Petar Stojanović, Adam Gnezda Čerin, Timi Elšnik, Jan Mlakar; Andraž Šporar, Benjamin Šeško.