Portugal called up Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Felix and Rúben Dias are among the 26 summoned of Portugal for matches against the Czech Republic (September 24) and Spain (September 27) in the Nations League, although Otávio, Gonçalo Guedes and André Silva, among others, were left out. Fernando Santos, coach of Portugal, said he was not “concerned” by CR7’s lack of playing time at Manchester United.

Santos, who made the announcement Thursday in a press conference, explained that he considered “all the difficulties that exist”, such as Joao Cancelo (among those called up), will not be able to play against the Czech Republic due to suspension.and both players accumulate a yellow card.

“These are very important matches. This has guided our ambition to reach the final stage of this tournament and it has a lot to do with what will be seen in the squad”, he stated. the coach, who admitted it was “tough” to choose.

Because Cancelo was suspended in the first gamewhich will take place on September 24 in Prague, acknowledged that Djaló, who is currently at Lille, has “possibilities” to play.

Asked about the importance of the meeting with Spain -which will be held on September 27 in Braga (north of Portugal)-, Santos referred to the game against the Czech Republic, “the one that solves everything first, the most important, there is no Spain without the Czech Republic”. Spain is leader of group 2, with 8 points. Portugal (7), Czech Republic (4) and Switzerland (3) followed.

Santos maintained that “no one doubts” that Cristiano Ronaldo, who is gathering several substitutes at Manchester United, “continues to be important for the national team“And, regarding Otávio’s absence, he argued that it was based on what the medical services had told him.

“My department says that there are two players who are not available for this call. Otávio and Renato (Sanches). From the moment they told me that they are not fit (…) it is because they are not in physical condition . to be present” he clarified.

Santos also pointed out that, heading into the World Cup, he didn’t make any predictionsalthough he admitted that the month of October “will be decisive” for him to decide who will attend based on the players’ performances.

Portugal’s list is as follows:

Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (Porto), José Sá (Wolves) and Rui Patricio (Roma).

defenses: Diogo Dalot (ManUnited), Joao Cancelo (ManCity), Danilo Pereira (PSG), Pepe (Porto), Rúben Dias (ManCity), Tiago Djaló (Lille), Nuno Mendes (PSG) and Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund).

Midfielders: Joao Palhinha (Fulham), Rúben Neves (Wolves), Bernardo Silva (ManCity), Bruno Fernandes (ManUnited), Joao Mário (Benfica), Matheus Nunes (Wolves), Vitinha (PSG) and William Carvalho (Betis).

Forward: Cristiano Ronaldo (Man United), Diogo Jota (Liverpool), Pedro Neto (Wolves), João Félix (Atlético), Rafa Silva (Benfica), Rafael Leao (Milan) and Ricardo Horta (Braga).