Cristiano Ronaldo will lead Portugal in their sixth World Cup.
CR7 will embark on a sixth World Cup at the age of 41, after Portuguese coach Roberto Martinez named a 27-man squad for the tournament on Tuesday, with a symbolic ‘plus one’ in memory of the late Diogo Jota.
The news was confirmed after Martinez said during a speech on Cidade do Futebol that fourth-choice goalkeeper Ricardo Velho of Genclerbirligi Ankara will travel with the squad but can only be added to the official 26-man list in the event of an injury to one of the three registered goalkeepers.
Martinez said his squad consisted of “27 players plus one”, a reference to Liverpool striker Jota, who died in a car crash aged 28 last July.
“He is our strength, our joy,” Martinez said. “The loss of Diogo was an unforgettable and very difficult moment, but the next day it was up to all of us to fight for Diogo’s dream and for the example he always set in our national team. Diogo Jota’s spirit, strength and example are the +1 and will always be the +1.”
The coach defended his decision to appoint four goalkeepers and five wing-backs while omitting the likes of Mateus Fernandes, Ricardo Horta and Pedro Goncalves.
“The complexity of the tournament is very important – the demands of the weather, the time zone, everything we have already experienced in March,” Martinez said. “There are positions where we need more than two players per position. And we need five full-backs.”
Portugal World Cup squad
Goalkeepers:
Diogo Costa (FC Porto)
Jose Sa (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Rui Silva (Sporting CP)
Ricardo Velho (Genclerbirligi Ankara)
Defenders:
Diogo Dalot (Manchester United)
Matheus Nunes (Manchester City)
Nelson Semedo (Fenerbahce SK)
Joao Cancelo (FC Barcelona)
Nuno Mendes (PSG)
Goncalo Inacio (Sporting CP)
Renato Veiga (Villarreal)
Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
Tomas Araujo (SL Benfica)
Midfielders:
Ruben Neves (Al Hilal)
Samuel Costa (Mallorca)
Joao Neves (PSG)
Vitinha (PSG)
Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Forward: Joao Felix (Al Nassr)
Francisco Trincão (Sporting CP)
Francisco Conceicao (Juventus)
Pedro Neto (Chelsea)
Rafael Leao (AC Milan)
Gonçalo Guedes (Real Sociedad)
Goncalo Ramos (PSG)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr)
Portugal warms up against Chile in Oeiras on June 6 and Nigeria in Leiria on June 10. FIFA has determined that the team must be at their training camp in Palm Beach, Florida, at least five days before their opening match.
Notably, Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player ever to be called up for six World Cup tournaments.
