Fernando Santos tonight announced the 23 players who will represent Portugal this summer at Euro 2016.
The headline grabber is Renato Sanches, who crowns his incredible season with a call-up to the tournament in France, but there were no real surprises in the final list.
On the downside, attacking midfielder Bernardo Silva misses out after getting injured in training last week.
Also deprived of the possibility of selecting Fábio Coentrão, Danny and Tiago because of fitness issues, Santos will be hoping several of his players who still have one match to play in 2015/16 come through their final game unscathed.
On Thursday Bruno Alves and Nani play the Turkish Cup final, and on Friday night Eliseu and Renato Sanches play the final of the Portuguese Taça da Liga (league cup), while on Sunday FC Porto’s Danilo and Braga’s Rafa Silva come face to face in the Portuguese Cup final.
Then one week later, Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe will be in action in the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid on 28 May in Milan.
Santos says he is confident Ronaldo will not be affected by his recent fitness issues, and that the captain "will be mentally and physically at his best as he is full of ambition in relation to this tournament."
The experienced coach also confirmed Portugal will not play with a fixed No9, hinting that he will give preference to a 4-4-2 system although not discarding the traditional 4-3-3.
Santos reiterated his belief that the Seleção can go all the way in France: "I believe Portugal can get to the Euro 2012 final and win it, and so do the players."
Curiosities:
- There are 12 new players in the squad in relation to Portugal's 2014 World Cup squad
- Only 8 players in the squad play their football in Portugal (7 from next season as Renato Sanches will be a Bayern Munich player)
- 10 players will be representing Portugal at a senior international tournament for the first time
- At 18 years old Renato Sanches becomes the youngest ever player to represent Portugal at a Euro or World Cup
Portugal’s Euro 2016 squad
Goalkeepers: Rui Patrício (Sporting) Anthony Lopes (Lyon), Eduardo (Dynamo Zagreb)
Defenders: Cédric Soares (Southampton), Vieirinha (Wolfsburg), Pepe (Real Madrid), Ricardo Carvalho (Monaco), José Fonte (Southampton), Bruno Alves (Fenerbahce), Rafael Guerreiro (Lorient), Eliseu (Benfica)
Midfielders: William Carvalho (Sporting), Danilo (FC Porto), André Gomes (Valencia), Adrien Silva (Sporting), João Mário (Sporting), João Moutinho (Monaco), Renato Sanches (Benfica)
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Nani (Fenerbahce), Ricardo Quaresma (Besiktas), Rafa Silva (Braga), Éder (Lille)
by Tom Kundert
