Jorge Jesus has confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo will start his first game in charge of Portugal, against Wales in the opening match of their Nations League campaign. Portugal welcome Wales to the Estadio Jose Alvalade on Thursday in what will be their first match since exiting the World Cup against eventual champions Spain in the last 16. Roberto Martinez's three-year reign was brought to an end, with Jesus appointed as his successor on a four-year contract, taking him through to the World Cup in 2030. The 72-year-old is a player Ronaldo knows well, with the pair linking up at Al-Nassr, where they became Saudi Pro League champions for the first time since Ronaldo arrived. Ronaldo scored 29 goals in 33 appearances under Jesus for Al Nassr in the 2025-26 campaign, averaging a goal every 99 minutes.Throughout his career, the only managers under whom Ronaldo has a better goals-per-game average in league play are Carlo Ancelotti (1.22) and Jose Mourinho (1.13) at Real Madrid, and Luis Castro and Rudi Garcia at Al-Nassr (both 1.1).Following his unveiling, Jesus insisted Ronaldo "would never be a problem" for Portugal, and he revealed he intends to start the five-time Ballon d'Or winner against Wales. "We have been in many situations of major competitions, such as the Champions League and the World Cup," Jesus said."I have never seen an audience with so many people. It's also good, football needs more and more agents to be shared with the national team and players."Today will be my first training on the field, because yesterday was a recovery session. And if nothing special happens, Cris will play tomorrow from the start."UEFA Nations League mode: ON pic.twitter.com/XLfg85zBpt— Portugal (@selecaoportugal) September 22, 2026This will be the first meeting between Portugal and Wales since the semi-finals of the 2016 European Championship, with the Selecao winning 2-0 en route to the trophy. .Portugal are also the reigning Nations League holders, beating Spain on penalties in 2024-25. They have won 11 of 14 home matches in the competition (D1 L2), losing only to France (in November 2020) and Spain (in September 2022).After their defeat to Spain at the World Cup, Portugal will be looking to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time since September and October 2014, when they were beaten by Albania and then France. They will fancy their chances against a Wales side that remain winless in their last four matches (D3 L1), their worst run under manager Craig Bellamy. Not since 2012 have they had a longer winless start to a calendar year (L5).Jesus was asked about the relative importance of the Nations League, or whether his full attention was on the 2028 European Championships and the 2030 World Cup. "I'm in a team that has the best players in the world. All goals are to win," Jesus added."And therefore, the first competition is the Nations League, and we are the holders of the title and, of course, we have to defend it."The post Jesus confirms Ronaldo will start on Portugal bow against Wales appeared first on SoccerNews.