A new era begins, and not just because Cristiano Ronaldo has retired from the Seleção. With new coach Jorge Jesus at the helm, legitimised by four excellent results and some exhilarating football played last month, his second squad call-up feels like the true fresh start for Portugal’s national team.
With Portugal qualified for the quarter-finals of the Nations League, Cristiano Ronaldo announcing his retirement from the Seleção, and the U21s having successfully finished their Euro 2027 qualifying campaign, the conditions were ideal for coach Jorge Jesus to bring in new faces.
The veteran coach had indicated he would do so last month, but the wholesale changes are striking nonetheless.
With Fernando Santos and Roberto Martínez preferring evolution rather than revolution, it is unusual to see such a radical overhaul of the Portugal squad for an international window with competitive games.
Seven fresh faces
Jesus has called up 28 players for the matches against Denmark and Wales. In comparison to the previous squad, seven new players have been drafted in: Alberto Costa, António Silva, Mateus Fernandes, Carlos Forbs, Geovany Quenda, Rodrigo Mora and Gustavo Varela.
As well as Ronaldo, other absentees in relation to the previous group include Francisco Conceição (suspended), Nuno Mendes (injured) and Gonçalo Inácio (dropped).
Jesus confirmed that he would have selected Ronaldo if the captain had not announced his retirement from international football.
Amongst the fresh faces, Alberto Costa, Geovany Quenda, Rodrigo Mora and Gustavo Varela are yet to debut for Portugal’s senior team. Quenda and Mora were called up by previous Portugal manager Roberto Martínez but did not get off the bench, while Porto defender Costa and Monza striker Varela make the squad for the first time.
Portugal play Denmark in Braga next Saturday 14 November, before completing the group phase of the Nations League with a trip to Cardiff to face Wales on 17 November.
The Seleção won all four of their first matches in the competition and will guarantee top spot in Group A4 with one more point from the two games.
Full Portugal squad for Denmark and Wales Nations League matches
Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (Porto), Rui Silva (Sporting), Samuel Soares (Benfica)
Defenders: João Cancelo (Barcelona), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Alberto Costa (Porto), Rúben Dias (Manchester City), Renato Veiga (Villarreal), Tomás Araújo (Benfica), António Silva (Bournemouth), Nuno Tavares (Lazio)
Midfielders: Rúben Neves (Al Hilal), João Palhinha (Benfica), Mateus Fernandes (Tottenham), João Neves (PSG), Vitinha (PSG), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Bernardo Silva (Real Madrid)
Forwards: Pedro Neto (Chelsea), Rodrigo Mora (Roma), Francisco Trincão (Al Ahli), Rafael Leão (Galatasaray), Geovany Quenda (Chelsea), Carlos Forbs (Club Brugge), João Félix (Al Nassr), Gonçalo Ramos (Milan), Fábio Silva (Dortmund), Gustavo Varela (Monza)
