Portugal national team coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, announcing the team composition for the World Cup, did not do without surprises either.
Among the 23 footballers going to the World Cup, we will not see one of Portugal's most talented defenders, Ricardo Quaresma, who helped Porto win the Portuguese championship and cup this season with his excellent play.
In the team, there will also be no defender Jorge Andrade, who did not have time to recover after knee surgery. In his place, Porto defender Ricardo Costa was invited to the national team.
Portugal will start the World Cup playing in Group D together with the teams of Angola, Iran, and Mexico. The "European Brazilians" will start the championship with a match against the Angola national team on June 11th.
Portugal's national team composition:
Goalkeepers: Ricardo Pereira (Sporting) Quim Silva (Benfica) Bruno Vale (Estrela Amadora)
Defenders: Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea) Miguel Monteiro (Valencia) Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea) Fernando Meira (Stuttgart) Marco Caneira (Sporting) Ricardo Costa (Porto) Nuno Valente (Everton)
Midfielders: Armando Petit (Benfica) Costinha (Dynamo Moscow) Tiago Mendes (Lyon) Maniche Ribeiro (Chelsea) Hugo Viana (Valencia) Luis Figo (Inter) Deco (Barcelona) Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) Simao Sabrosa (Benfica)
Forwards: Luis Boa Morte (Fulham) Pauleta (PSG) Nuno Gomes (Benfica) Helder Postiga (Saint-Étienne)