To experiment or not to experiment? That was the question. Portugal coach Fernando Santos has opted for the latter, it seems.
With just six months and six competitive matches to prepare for the Qatar World Cup, Santos has called up all of Portugal’s big guns as he seeks from an enormously talented Seleção squad the combination of players to produce the right team chemistry – a task that has often eluded him in recent months.
Nevertheless, there is room in the 26-man squad for two newcomers: Ricardo Horta and David Carmo.
Braga captain Horta has enjoyed yet another outstanding season, while his club teammate Carmo has also excelled since returning from a year out with injury. Carmo is seen by many as the long-term centre-back partner for Rúben Dias at the heart of Portugal’s defence.
Portugal play Spain in Seville on 2 June before hosting Switzerland (5 June) and the Czech Republic (9 June) in Lisbon. The four-match sequence in quick succession ends with the return match against Switzerland on 12 June in Geneva.
Portugal squad for first four Nations League matches:
Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (Porto), José Sá (Wolves), Rui Patrício (Roma)
Defenders: Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), João Cancelo (Manchester City), Danilo Pereira (PSG), David Carmo (Braga), Domingos Duarte (Granada), Pepe (Porto), Nuno Mendes (PSG), Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund)
Midfielders: João Moutinho (Wolves), João Palhinha (Sporting), Rúben Neves (Wolves), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Matheus Nunes (Sporting), Vítor Ferreira (Porto), William Carvalho (Real Betis), Otávio Monteiro (Porto)
Forwards: Gonçalo Guedes (Valencia), Rafael Leão (AC Milan), Ricardo Horta (Braga), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), André Silva (Leipzig), Diogo Jota (Liverpool)
Portugal U21s on the brink
U21 coach Rui Jorge also announced the Seleção squad for the final 3 matches of Portugal’s campaign to qualify for the 2023 European Championship jointly hosted in Romania and Georgia.
Portugal play Belarus, Liechtenstein and Greece. The Seleção are well placed to finish top of Group D having won 6 and drawn one of their 7 matches so far.
Goalkeepers: Celton Biai (Vitória), Gonçalo Tabuaço (Estrela), Samuel Soares (Benfica)
Defenders: Alexandre Penetra (Famalicão), Eduardo Quaresma (Tondela), Gonçalo Inácio (Sporting), João Mário (Porto), Nuno Tavares (Arsenal), Rafael Rodrigues (Benfica), Tiago Djaló (Lille)
Midfielders: Afonso Sousa (B-SAD), André Almeida (Vitória), Fábio Vieira (Porto), Fábio Carvalho (Fulham), José Carlos (Varzim) , Paulo Bernardo (Benfica), Tiago Dantas (Tondela), Vasco Sousa (Porto)
Forwards: David da Costa (Lens), Fábio Silva (Wolves), Francisco Conceição (Porto), Gonçalo Ramos (Benfica), Gonçalo Borges (Porto), Henrique Araújo (Benfica), Pedro Neto (Wolves), Vítor Oliveira (Braga)
by Tom Kundert
