"I never imagined playing with Cristiano, it's a huge honour to be here with him," said Matheus Nunes, midfielder of Portugal.
The Manchester City player mentioned that the entire squad feels a collective desire to secure the missing global trophy for their veteran captain.
"Everyone knows what a great figure he is. If we can win the title for him, it would be something very big," Nunes said.
Midfielder Bruno Fernandes admitted to feeling a positive nervous anxiety due to the responsibility of representing millions of fans back home.
"Every time we wear this jersey, we feel the same pride, the same passion, and the same sense of responsibility as on the first day.
Tomorrow begins a new chapter," Fernandes said.
The Manchester United player noted that he grew up watching the iconic forward lead Portugal as far back as the 2004 European Championship.
"We've all grown up watching Cristiano Ronaldo play and for us it's such an honor to play next to him now in the same team," he said.
Fernandes added that the team dismissed domestic criticism regarding a brief rest period spent at a private beach near their Florida hotel.
"I think he's also anxious because at the end of the day he's also representing his national team and we know how passionate he is when he plays for Portugal," Fernandes said.
Portugal coach Roberto Martínez confirmed that defender Rúben Dias trained separately due to an unspecified injury and will likely be rested for the opening match.
