Portugal has picked nine Premier League stars to their Euro 2024 team, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United’s Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes. The Selecao has gone straight to picking 26 players for the tournament in Germany, with Ronaldo expected to captain his country this summer. Ronaldo, 39, is poised for his sixth European Championship after scoring an incredible 48 goals in 48 appearances for Al-Nassr this season.
He and 41-year-old Pepe are the oldest members of Portugal’s squad. The experienced defender, who has 136 caps, has been a consistent performer for Porto this season, particularly in the Champions League last 16 against Arsenal earlier this year.
A lot of Premier League players are present. The English-based players include Wolves trio Jose Sa, Nelson Semedo, and Pedro Neto, Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha, Manchester City’s Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva, Liverpool forward Diogo Jota, and United’s Fernandes and Dalot.
Joao Cancelo, who is still under contract with City, spent the 2023/24 season on loan at Barcelona and is now part of the squad after helping them reach the Champions League quarterfinals. The same is true for club teammate Joao Felix, despite his disappointing performance for Barcelona this season. However, Roberto Martinez has not included City midfielder Matheus Nunes. He did not play during qualification, but was called up to their most current team in March. Nunes has battled for form this season, starting just nine Premier League games for City after his £53 million arrival from Wolves last summer.
Other prominent absentees include Wolves defender Toti Gomes, Leicester right-back Ricardo Pereira, and Sporting CP forward Pedro Goncalves, while Roma midfielder Renato Sanches has been sidelined for a year. There is no place for Arsenal’s Fabio Viera, who has struggled for form,
Martinez, a former Wigan and Belgium manager, took charge of Portugal at the start of Euro 2024 qualification and guided them to a perfect group campaign, winning 10 games out of 10. They scored 36 goals and allowed twice in a group that included Slovenia, Luxembourg, Iceland, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Liechtenstein. On Tuesday, June 18, Portugal will meet the Czech Republic in Leipzig to kick off their Euro 2024 campaign. The Selecao will then play Turkey in Dortmund on Saturday, June 22, before facing debutants Georgia in their last group game on Wednesday, June 26 in Gelsenkirchen.
Portugal’s squad for Euro 2024 Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa, Jose Sa, and Rui Patricio.
Defenders: Antonio Silva, Danilo Pereira, Diogo Dalot, Goncalo Inacio, Joao Cancelo, Nelson Semedo, Nuno Mendes, Pepe, and Ruben Dias
Midfielders: Bruno Fernandes, Joao Neves, Joao Palhinha, Otavio, Ruben Neves, Vitinha
Forwards: Bernardo Silva, Cristiano Ronaldo, Diogo Jota, Francisco Conceicao, Goncalo Ramos, Joao Felix, Pedro Neto, Rafael Leao
