Euro 2020 Qualifiers:Ronaldo joins Portugal camp

Cristiano Ronaldo rejoined his Portugal teammates on Tuesday ahead of the start of Euro 2020 qualifying this week following a nine-month absence from the national team.

The 34-year-old Juventus forward was recalled by Portugal coach Fernando Santos for games at home to Ukraine and Serbia, having not played for his country since the 2018 World Cup.

Ronaldo was rested for the last six Portugal games while he settled at his new club following his departure from Real Madrid last July.

The reigning European champions, who are through to the Uefa Nations League final in June, kick off their Group B campaign in Lisbon on Friday against Ukraine before facing Serbia on March 25.

“Cristiano adds quality to any team. It’s a pleasure to play with him and he’s very important for us,” Portugal defender Joao Cancelo, Ronaldo’s teammate at Juventus, told reporters on Tuesday.

Young German squad needs to feel our trust – Loew

Germany’s young national team need to feel they have the complete trust of their manager to get the job done when they face Serbia in a friendly international on Wednesday before travelling to the Netherlands for their first Euro 2020 qualifier next week.

Coach Joachim Loew has unexpectedly dropped world champions Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng and Thomas Mueller, opting to rejuvenate his squad after their first-round exit in the 2018 World Cup in Russia and their shock Nations League relegation.

“We now face a new time, a new challenge. I have to give the team the feeling that we fully trust them,” Loew told a news conference on Tuesday.

“We have to give them the chance to develop, take over more responsibilities and also during a rough patch offer them solutions when they make mistakes so they have the trust to go into the next months.”

Eight of his 23-man squad are still eligible for national youth teams, including 19-year-old Kai Havertz, Loew said

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