Final 23-Man Squad of Portugal has been announced and head coach Fernando Santos has omitted several players from that Euro 2016 winning squad. The likes of Andre Gomes, Eder, Renato Sanches and Nani fail to get the nod below is the entire confirmed 23 man squad.
Renato Sanchez and Fabio Coentrao will miss out on the 2018 World Cup holding in Russia.
This is following their omission from Portugal’s 35-man provisional squad list for the tournament released on Tuesday.
Five-time Ballon D’Or winner, Cristiano Ronaldo will lead the team to Russia.
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)
Coach: Fernando Santos
Since taking over as Portugal national team coach, Fernando Santos has turned Portugal into a very hard team to beat. Even though they have Ronaldo in their ranks, Portugal still relies heavily on their solid foundation at the back which was the key ingredient for Portugal surprise Euro 2016 win. Portugal do lack the spark in central midfield but with Ronaldo, at the helm, they always have a chance against anyone. Santos likes to use conventional 4-4-2 system with Ronaldo, Silva upfront while Jao Mario and Bernardo Silva supporting on the attack from the wings.