As the World Cup in Russia approaches, the European champions Portugal have announced their final squad of 23 players for the tournament.
The announced lineup does not include three players who played important roles in the previous tournament - "Lazio" full-back Nani, "Barcelona" representative Andre Gomes, and "Swansea" player Renato Sanches who missed the season. Surprisingly, the squad also does not include Eder, who scored the winning goal in the final against France.
"Not being able to include all the players who won the European Championship with us is very painful for me. They all contributed significantly to our historic performance, but I had to make decisions that would give me more opportunities and choices for the upcoming World Cup next month," said Portugal coach Fernando Santos.
The Portugal national team will compete in Group B against Morocco, Spain, and Iran.
