Portugal announce squad for the UEFA Nations League as Cristiano Ronaldo is left out
Portugal have today released the squad they will be using for the upcoming clashes with Italy and Croatia in the newly-formed UEFA Nations League, with Ronaldo left behind.
Portugal will face World Cup finalists Croatia on the 6th September in a friendly, while Italy will prove their opponents four days later on the 10th in the UEFA Nations League.
Portugal will play host on both occasions, first in the Algarve and then in the Estadio da Luz, the home of Benfica.
And Fernando Santos' Seleção squad has now been announced, with the majority of the World Cup participants maintaining their place in the team.
The big surprise is Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo is not in the squad, while Wolves midfielder João Moutinho also misses out. However, Manchester City's Bernardo Silva maintains his place in what is a relatively experimental squad.
Indeed, there are four Portuguese players in contention for making their international debut, with 19-year old Benfica midfielder Gedson Fernandes included in the squad, who, despite only making his senior club debut last month, has been sublime for the Lisbon club. With him centreback Pedro Mendes, Porto's Sergio Oliveira and Tondela goakeeper Claudio Ramos are also potential debutants for the Seleção this month.
In addition to Cristiano Ronaldo and João Moutinho, veteran countrymen Ricardo Quaresma, Jose Fonte and Bruno Alves are not included in the squad - whether they will return to the team in the future remains to be seen.
FULL SQUAD:
Rui Patricio (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Beto (Goztepe), Claudio Ramos (Tondela)
Pepe (Besiktas), Luis Neto (Zenit), Pedro Mendes (Montpellier), Ruben Dias (Benfica); Raphael Guerreiro (Dortmund), Mario Rui (Napoli), João Cancelo (Juventus), Cedric Soares (Southampton).
Ruben Neves (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Sergio Oliveira (Porto), Renato Sanches (Bayern Munich), William Carvalho (Real Betis), Bruno Fernandes (Sporting), Gedson Fernandes (Benfica), Pizzi (Benfica).
Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Rony Lopes (Monaco), Gelson Martins (Atletico Madrid), Bruma (Leipzig), Gonçalo Guedes (Valencia), Andre Silva (Sevilla).
