23-man Portugal squad for Fifa World Cup 2018 was announced as star Forwards Eder and Nani were surprisingly not named in the team with national team coach Fernando Santos opting for the youth of Andre Silva and Goncalo Guedes to play alongside veteran Cristiano Ronaldo. Andre Gomes and Danilo Pereira were also missing from the line-up.
Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Ruben Neves also failed to make the squad. He featured in a friendly win in March over Egypt.
Eder. who scored the extra-time winning goal in the Euro 2016 final against France, was out of form for Lokomotiv Moscow this season, scoring just four goals. However his club managed to win the Russian Premier League title this year.
31-year-old Nani and his country’s third most-capped player behind Ronaldo and Luis Figo with 112 appearances, has played just 24 matches all season with Lazio.
“From a human perspective, it’s very hard to discard players who were with us at Euro 2016,” quoted coach Santos.
“They have all contributed to writing a brilliant chapter in the history of Portuguese football. But I had to make choices that for me make a better puzzle.”
21-year-old Guedes has impressed on loan at Valencia from Paris Saint-Germain this season.
22-year-old Andre Silva scored eight goals in 14 games during AC Milan’s Europa League campaign, which was enough to give him a place in the Portugal line-up.
Portugal are placed in Group B at the World Cup, along with former champions Spain, Morocco and Iran.
They will play friendlies against Tunisia, Belgium and Algeria before the World cup kickstarts in Russia from June 14.
Portugal squad for Fifa World Cup 2018
Goalkeepers: Anthony Lopes (Lyon/FRA), Beto (Goztepe/TUR), Rui Patricio (Sporting Lisbon)
Defenders: Bruno Alves (Glasgow Rangers/SCO), Cedric Soares (Southampton/ENG), Jos? Fonte (Dalian Yifang/CHN), Mario Rui (Napoli/ITA), Pepe (Besiktas/TUR), Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund/GER), Ricardo Pereira (FC Porto), Ruben Dias (Benfica)
Midfielders: Adrien Silva (Leicester City/ENG), Bruno Fernandes (Sporting Lisbon), Joao Mario (West Ham/ENG), Joao Moutinho (Monaco/FRA), Manuel Fernandes (Lokomotiv Moscow/RUS), William Carvalho (Sporting Lisbon), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City/ENG)
Strikers: Andre Silva (AC Milan/ITA), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/ESP), Gelson Martins (Sporting Lisbon), Goncalo Guedes (Valencia/ESP – on loan from Paris Saint-Germain/FRA), Ricardo Quaresma (Besiktas/TUR)
