A fifth World Cup marketing campaign beckons for Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo, however there isn’t a place for injured Liverpool ahead Diogo Jota.
Cristiano Ronaldo will as soon as once more pull on the captain’s armband as Portugal head to the World Cup in Qatar. The star ahead has been named by head coach Fernando Santos to guide his nation in his fifth World Cup marketing campaign.
The 37-year-old could also be displaying a couple of indicators of slowing down as his profession heads in direction of its sundown years, and he won’t be the one veteran in Santos’s facet, with 39-year-old central defender Pepe additionally named within the squad.
They are going to be joined by Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes and Joao Felix.
However Joao Moutinho, José Fonte and Renato Sanches have all been overlooked of the 26-man squad getting on the airplane. There was heartbreak, too, for Liverpool ahead Diogo Jota, who has been dominated out of a Qatar run because of damage.
“What can Portugal actually obtain?” Santos requested reporters gathered in Cidade do Futebol in Oeiras. “I’ll reply in a quite simple approach – and that’s to be world champions. I imagine that’s potential, my gamers additionally imagine in it, and due to this fact that’s what this staff can obtain.”
It isn’t that every one skilled gamers are making the journey to Qatar – 19-year-old Benfica defender Antonio Silva has acquired his first call-up and will likely be carefully watched by membership expertise scouts from all over the world.
Portugal earned their first main worldwide trophy on the 2016 European Championship, and in addition gained the inaugural Nations League at residence in 2019. However the staff didn’t get previous the spherical of 16 on the 2018 World Cup after which fell on the identical stage in Euro 2020.
Santos defended his choice selections for the Qatar 2022 marketing campaign, hoping both to shoulder the blame for failure, or bask within the glory of victory. “I do all of the selecting on this case so, naturally, I assume all tasks,” he stated. “If all goes nicely, I’m accountable. If not, which won’t be the case, I may also be accountable.”
The Portugal staff in full:
Goalkeepers
- Diogo Costa (Porto)
- Rui Patricio (Roma)
- José Sa (Wolverhampton)
Defenders
- Diogo Dalot (Manchester United)
- Danilo Pereira (PSG)
- Joao Cancelo (Manchester Metropolis)
- Antonio Silva (Benfica)
- Pepe (Porto)
- Ruben Dias (Manchester Metropolis)
- Nuno Mendes (PSG)
- Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund)
Midfielders
- William Carvalho (Actual Betis)
- Ruben Neves (Wolverhampton)
- Otavio Monteiro (Porto)
- Bernardo Silva (Manchester Metropolis)
- Matheus Nunes (Wolverhampton)
- Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
- Joao Mario (Benfica)
- Joao Palhinha (Fulham)
- Vitinha (PSG)
Forwards
- André Silva (Leipzig)
- Ricardo Horta (Braga)
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
- Joao Felix (Atlético Madrid)
- Rafael Leao (AC Milan)
- Goncalo Ramos (Benfica)
