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One of Ghana’s group opponent at the World Cup, Portugal have announce their 26 man squad with Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo leading the team.
Portugal are in group H at the Qatar World Cup and will come up against Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea as the global mundial kicks on Sunday November 20, 2022.
Portugal have faced Ghana at a World Cup before, where they beat the Black Stars 2-1 in the 2014 group stage with neither side progressing to the knockouts.
Portugal will also hope to revenge means their 2018 World Cup Round of 16 exit to Uruguay, when they were knocked after a 2-1 defeat.
The Portuguese, however, very nearly did not make it to the tournament this year, after finishing second behind Serbia in their UEFA qualifying group.
That meant Fernando Santos’ side went into the UEFA play-off path, where they beat Turkey 3-1 in the semi-final followed by a 2-0 victory over North Macedonia — who had beaten Italy in their semi-final — to book their spot at the World Cup in Qatar, whose hosting of the tournament is controversial for the reasons outlined in this article.
That play-off win saw Portugal continue their run of qualifying for every World Cup this millennium. Their best tournament run, however, came over 50 years ago when they finished third at the 1966 edition.
Though they ‘only’ qualified through the play-offs, Portugal will go into the World Cup with high ambitions — particularly as this may well be the last time we see Cristiano Ronaldo on the world stage.
Ronaldo will be supported by quality players in Portugal’s deep squad, with Bruno Fernandes, Joao Cancelo and Rafael Leao among those who will be expected to make a splash in Qatar.
Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Pedro Neto, however, will miss the tournament after sustaining calf and ankle injuries respectively earlier this season.
Below is the 26-man Portugal list:
Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (FC Porto), José Sá (Wolverhampton, England) and Rui Patrício (AS Roma, Italy).
Defenders: Diogo Dalot (Manchester United, England), João Cancelo (Manchester City, England), Pepe (FC Porto), Rúben Dias (Manchester City, England), Danilo Pereira (Paris Saint-Germain, France), António Silva (Benfica), Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain, France) and Raphaël Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund, Germany).
Midfielders: Palhinha (Fulham, England), Rúben Neves (Wolverhampton, England), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City, England), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United, England), João Mário (Benfica), Matheus Nunes (Wolverhampton, England), Otávio (FC Porto), Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain, France) and William Carvalho (Real Betis, Spain).
Forwards: André Silva (RB Leipzig, Germany), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, England), Gonçalo Ramos (Benfica), João Félix (Atlético de Madrid, Spain), Rafael Leão (AC Milan, Italy) and Ricardo Horta (Sporting de Braga).
