Otávio, Gonçalo Guedes and André Silva, among others, were left out of the list of 26
CR7 wants to continue adding to his record numbers in national team football
Cristiano Ronaldo, João Felix and Rúben Dias are among the 26 called up by Portugal for the Nations League matches against the Czech Republic and Spainalthough Otávio, Gonçalo Guedes and André Silva, among others, were left out.
The Portuguese national coach, Fernando Santos, who made the announcement this Thursday at a press conference, explained that has taken into account “all the adversities that exist”, such as the fact that João Cancelo (among those summoned), will not be able to play against the Czech Republic for being punished, and that two players accumulate a yellow card.
“They are very important games. This guided our ambition to reach the final phase of this tournament and it has a lot to do with what is reflected in the call”, affirmed the coach, who acknowledged that it has been “difficult” to choose.
As Cancelo was punished in the first game, which will take place on September 24 in Prague, he acknowledged that Djaló, currently at Lille, has “possibilities” to play.
Questioned about the importance of the meeting with Spain -which will be on September 27 in Braga (north of Portugal)-, Santos referred to the match against the Czech Republic, “the one that will solve everything in the first place”.
“It is the most important game. There will be no Spain if there is no Czechia,” he insisted.
defended that “nobody doubts” that Cristiano Ronaldo, who accumulates several substitutions in Manchester United, “is still important for the National Team” and, regarding the absence of Otávio, he argued that it is based on what was reported by the clinical department.
“My department says that there are two players who are not available for this call. Otávio and Renato (Sanches). From the moment they tell me that they are not fit (…) it is because they do not have the physical conditions to be present “he clarified.
He also specified that, facing the World Cup, he has not made any forecasts, although he acknowledged that the month of October “is going to be decisive” for him to decide who will attend based on the performance of the players.
List of called:
Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (Porto), José Sá (Wolverhampton Wanderers FC) and Rui Patrício (AS Roma).
Defenders: Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), João Cancelo (Manchester City), Danilo Pereira (PSG), Pepe (Porto), Rúben Dias (Manchester City), Tiago Djaló (LOSC Lille), Nuno Mendes (PSG) and Raphael Guerreiro ( Borussia Dortmund).
Midfielders: João Palhinha (Fulham FC), Rúben Neves (Wolverhampton Wanderers FC), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), João Mário (Benfica), Matheus Nunes (Wolverhampton Wanderers FC), Vitinha (PSG) and William Carvalho (Real Betis).
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Diogo Jota (Liverpool FC), Pedro Neto (Wolverhampton Wanderers FC), João Félix (Atlético de Madrid), Rafa Silva (Benfica), Rafael Leão (AC Milan) and Ricardo Horta (SC Braga) ).