Portugal
Ze Castro only player to be dropped as Carlos Queiroz names final World Cup squad.
 |
|
Pepe and Simao Sabrosa have made Carlos Queiroz’s final cut [EPA] |
After years of failure, Portugal have become one of the feared sides in football, with the Golden Generation of Luis Figo, Sergio Conceicao and Rui Costa setting the team on the way to a proud record in World Cups and European Championships in the past decade.
Currently ranked third in the Fifa standings, they now boast former world footballer of the year Cristiano Ronaldo, who helped them reach the World Cup semi-finals in 2006.
Their qualifying campaign under new coach Carlos Queiroz was near-disastrous, however, sneaking into second by a point over Sweden before narrowly beating Bosnia and Herzegovina in a playoff.
Goalkeepers:
Eduardo (Braga), Daniel Fernandes (Iraklis), Beto (Porto).
| Group G fixtures |
|
Tuesday June 15 Sunday June 20 Monday June 21 Friday June 25 |
Defenders:
Miguel (Valencia), Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea), Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea), Bruno Alves (Porto), Rolando (Porto), Ricardo Costa (Valencia), Duda (Malaga), Fabio Coentrao (Benfica).
Midfielders:
Pedro Mendes (Sporting), Pepe (Real Madrid), Tiago (Atletico Madrid), Deco (Chelsea), Raul Meireles (Porto), Miguel Veloso (Sporting).
Forwards:
Simao Sabrosa (Atletico Madrid), Danny (Zenit St Petersburg), Liedson (Sporting), Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Nani (Manchester United).