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With the World Cup qualifiers on cards, coach Fernando Santos picked his squad that will play for Portugal in the event. The squad will have many of the players who participated in the European Championship. Portugal's star striker Cristiano Ronaldo has also been included in the squad despite uncertainties around his next club.
Ronaldo, who is looking for a new club as his deal with current club Juventus is expiring, missed out from the club's training session with an arm issue. However, Fernando Santos made it clear that this won't last long and Ronaldo should be fit to join the national team. Santos further dismissed the notion that the star footballer will be affected by the uncertainties and rumours about his club future. “If there is one thing that no one can question about him is his love for the national team,” said Santos.
Having found a place in Portugal's squad, Ronaldo will have a chance to become all-time men's top scorer in international soccer. Currently, Ronaldo has 109 goals, joint topper alongside Iran striker Ali Daei.
Portugal Squad
Goalkeepers: Anthony Lopes (Lyon), Rui Patricio (Roma), Diogo Costa (Porto)
Defenders: João Cancelo (Manchester City), Ricardo Pereira (Leicester), Domingos Duarte (Granada), Gonçalo Inácio (Sporting Lisbon), Pepe (Porto), Rúben Dias (Manchester City), Nuno Mendes (Sporting Lisbon), Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund)
Midfielders: Danilo Pereira (Paris Saint-Germain), João Palhinha (Sporting Lisbon), Rúben Neves (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), João Moutinho (Wolverhampton Wanderers), João Mário (Benfica), Otávio (Porto)
Forwards: Pedro Gonçalves (Sporting Lisbon), André Silva (Eintracht Frankfurt), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Diogo Jota (Liverpool), Gonçalo Guedes (Valencia), Rafa Silva (Benfica)
While many players from Euro 2020 found a place in Santos' squad, seven players including Nelson Semedo, William Carvalho, and Renato Sanches, have missed out on it. Atletico Madrid's Joao Felix has missed out due to an injury. Notably, the newcomers to the national team are Porto midfielder Otavio, Sporting Lisbon defender Goncalo Inacio and Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa.
Portugal will face Ireland, Azerbaijan, and hosts Qatar in September.