Cristiano Ronaldo star attraction in Portugal squad for FIFA World Cup 2018
Cristiano Ronaldo will be the star attraction for Portugal as the likes of Fabio Coentrao and Renato Sanches were missing from the side’s pre-World Cup squad.
Fabio Coentrao and Renato Sanches were missing from Portugal’s 35-strong pre-World Cup squad named Tuesday by coach Fernando Santos.
The squad, which will be cut to 23 before the June 14-July 15 tournament in Russia, included Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo and other mainstays of the team that won Euro 2016, such as Pepe, William Carvalho, Joao Moutinho, Nani and Ricardo Quaresma.
Sanches, who became the youngest player to lift the Euro title, has endured a disappointing season, the 20-year-old loaned to Swansea, who were relegated from the English Premier League, from Bayern Munich.
Coentrao, one of the revelations of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and currently on loan at Sporting from Real Madrid, had ruled himself out of selection on Monday, saying he had had an “exhausting” season.
Portugal will face Spain, Morocco and Iran in Group B, and will play warm-up matches against Tunisia, Belgium and Algeria.
Portugal squad
Goalkeepers: Anthony Lopes (Lyon/FRA), Beto Goztepe/TUR), Rui Patricio (Sporting)
Defenders: Antunes (Getafe/ESP), Bruno Alves (Rangers/SCO), Cedric Soares (Southampton/ENG), Joao Cancelo (Inter Milan/ITA), Jose Fonte (Dalian Yifang/CHN), Luis Neto (Fenerbahce/TUR), Mario Rui (Napoli/ITA), Nelson Semedo (Barcelona/ESP), Pepe (Besiktas/TUR), Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund/GER), Ricardo Pereira (Porto), Rolando (Marseille/FRA), Ruben Dias (Benfica).
Midfielders: Adrien Silva (Leicester City/ENG), Andre Gomes (Barcelona/ESP), Bruno Fernandes (Sporting), Joao Mario (West Ham/ENG), Joao Moutinho (Monaco/FRA), Manuel Fernandes (Lokomotiv Moscow/RUS), Ruben Neves (Wolverhampton/ENG), Sergio Oliveira (Porto), William Carvalho (Sporting)
Forwards: Andre Silva (AC Milan/ITA), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City/ENG), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/ESP), Eder (Lokomotiv Moscow/RUS), Gelson Martins (Sporting), Goncalo Guedes (Valencia/ESP), Nani (Lazio/ITA), Paulinho (Braga), Ricardo Quaresma (Besiktas/TUR), Rony Lopes (Monaco/FRA)
