Cristiano Ronaldo leads Portugal into what will surely be his last World Cup ahead of his 38th birthday in February.
And despite Fernando Santos’ somewhat outdated tactics and selection, the Selecao remain a real contender in Qatar.
With a plethora of talent in support of Ronaldo, including Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva, but Diogo Jota is out injured, meaning Santos will have to find the right balance with the recent Nations League performances hardly encouraging.
Portugal’s potential is huge, but Santos appears unable to give them the spark required to slug it out with the very best.
Here is everything you need to know:
Group fixtures (all times GMT)
Thursday 24 November: Portugal vs Ghana – 19:00
Monday 28 November: Portugal vs Uruguay – 22:00
Friday 2 December: South Korea vs Portugal – 18:00
Predicted squad
Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (Porto), Rui Patrício (Roma), Jose Sa (Wolves)
Defenders: Joao Cancelo (Manchester City), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Nuno Mendes (PSG), Ruben Dias (Manchester City), Pepe (Porto), Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund), Danilo Pereira (PSG), Mario Rui (Napoli), Jose Fonte (Lille)
Midfielders: Joao Palhinha (Fulham), Matheus Nunes (Wolves), William Carvalho (Real Betis), Ruben Neves (Wolves), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Joao Mario (Benfica), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Vitinha (PSG), Renato Sanches (PSG)
Forwards: Joao Felix (Atlético Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Rafael Leao (AC Milan), Ricardo Horta (Braga), Andre Silva (RB Leipzig)
Ones to watch
Star – Bernardo Silva: With Cristiano Ronaldo’s form and game time a concern, Bernardo will likely emerge as the heartbeat to this Portugal side’s attack, looking to knit moves together with his selfless personality on the pitch even more valuable for the Selecao than Manchester City. With Ronaldo more static than ever before, Bernardo’s service and immense quality to feed his country’s greatest player may just decide whether this develops into a successful or disastrous tournament.
Breakout talent – Rafael Leao: A special talent with an explosive edge in the final third badly lacking in the majority of Portugal’s other attacking options. Already a superstar for Milan and quickly translating that to the Champions League, if Fernando Santos wants to salvage some credibility he needs to find a way to fit Leao into the XI, otherwise the 24-year-old could bring a game-changing impact from the bench with his ability to carry the ball should opponents set up with a low block.
Odds to win the World Cup (taken from Betfair)
12/1
Prediction
Portugal: Momentum is not quite there for Portugal, which makes them a candidate to crash out in the groups. Victory in the opener against Ghana feels vital to their hopes, but with Ronaldo’s poor form and lack of games leading up to the tournament, we envisage a somewhat dysfunctional side being edged out of the top two. Knocked out in the group stage.
