It seems a rather dramatic scenario this far away from a World Cup, yet we already know that it isn’t possible for both Portugal and Italy to qualify, and Fernando Santos is going to continue to place his trust in Cristiano Ronaldo and the old guard to carry the team to Qatar.
Ronaldo’s form at club level has been far from exceptional, despite a recent hat-trick against Tottenham Hotspur, however he has been named in the squad to face Turkey in the play-off match.
“We want to be in the World Cup, that is our goal,” Santos declared at a press-conference on Thursday.
“There isn’t much else to talk about, this is the moment to win. Everything else is less important.”
📣 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗔 𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗚𝗢𝗨! Estes são os convocados para o Play-Off! 🔽 #VamosComTudo pic.twitter.com/kXkdM5mCKI
— Portugal (@selecaoportugal) March 17, 2022
This interview came after Santos named his squad to face Turkey, with 25 players summoned to join up with the group.
Ronaldo will be joined by Joao Felix, Goncalo Guedes and Bernardo Silva, who have all had varying degrees of success at domestic level this term.
A victory over Turkey for the Euro 2016 winners will set up a do-or-die clash with either Italy or North Macedonia.
“If we don’t manage to reach our goal it would go down in history, that’s indisputable,” he added.
“We’re convinced that together we will achieve the objective. We’re not worried about predictions, what matters is the present.”
Ruben Dias, Renato Sanches and Nelson Semedo all remain out through injury, whilst Palhinha, Joao Mario and Rafa Silva have all been overlooked by the former Greece coach.
Portugal’s full squad list
Goalkeepers: Anthony Lopes (Lyon), Diogo Costa (Porto) and Rui Patrício (Roma).
Defenders: Cedric Soares (Arsenal), Gonçalo Inacio (Sporting CP), Raphael Guerreiro (Dortmund), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Joao Cancelo (Manchester City), Jose Fonte (Lille), Pepe (Porto), Nuno Mendes (PSG).
Midfielders: Otavio (Porto), Danilo Pereira (PSG), Ruben Neves (Wolves), William Carvalho (Real Betis), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Joao Moutinho (Wolves), Matheus Nunes (Sporting CP) and Bernardo Silva (Manchester City).
Forwards: Goncalo Guedes (Valencia), Andre Silva (Leipzig), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Diogo Jota (Liverpool), Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid) and Rafael Leao (Milan).
