Portugal's first squad without Ronaldo has two new faces (and 28 names)
Jorge Jesus hands first senior call-ups to FC Porto full-back Alberto Costa and Monza forward Gustavo Varela for Denmark in Braga on 14 November and Wales in Cardiff on 17 November. Gonçalo Inácio and Nuno Mendes miss out, and seven players one booking from a ban explain the long list.
Jorge Jesus has named his first Portugal squad of the post-Ronaldo era, and it is a big one. Twenty-eight players are called up for the last two Nations League group games, including two men who have never been picked for the senior side before, as A Bola listed them: FC Porto full-back Alberto Costa and Monza forward Gustavo Varela.
The list came out at lunchtime on Friday at the federation’s base in Oeiras, a day after Cristiano Ronaldo walked away from international football with 234 caps and 146 goals.
Who is in Portugal’s squad for Denmark and Wales?
Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (FC Porto), Rui Silva (Sporting), Samuel Soares (Benfica).
Defenders: João Cancelo (Barcelona), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Alberto Costa (FC 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).
Who did Jorge Jesus leave out?
Ronaldo aside, Francisco Conceição, Nuno Mendes and Gonçalo Inácio are gone. In the Sporting centre-back’s case, it was the coach’s choice.
Seven names come in who were not on the last list: Alberto Costa, António Silva, Mateus Fernandes, Carlos Forbs, Geovany Quenda, Rodrigo Mora and Gustavo Varela. It is Jesus’s first list without his captain, and the refresh shows most in attack.
Why did Portugal call up 28 players?
Yellow cards. Seven players are one booking away from missing the Cardiff game, and Jesus wants cover in place rather than patching the squad midweek. He pointed out that nobody had yet asked him about the number, and said there was a logic to it.
On Ronaldo he kept it short. The decision was the player’s, he respects it and the subject is closed, though he admitted he had expected his captain to come back after the walkout from the Copenhagen camp on 30 September.
What do Portugal need to win their Nations League group?
A single point. Portugal are already through to the quarter-finals after four wins from four in group A4, and a draw against Denmark would lock up first place.
That game is on Saturday 14 November at Braga’s Estádio Municipal. Three days later, on the 17th, Portugal finish the group in Cardiff against Wales.
By Vasco Almada
Image: Joseolgon / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)