Cristiano Ronaldo is set to make his sixth World Cup appearance at the age of 41 after Portugal coach Roberto Martinez named a 27-man squad for the tournament, adding a symbolic “plus one” to honour the late Diogo Jota.
Speaking at Cidade do Futebol in front of a full house, Martinez confirmed that Ricardo Velho, the fourth-choice goalkeeper at Genclerbirligi Ankara, will travel with the team. However, the 26-year-old can only be formally included in the official 26-man matchday list if one of the three registered goalkeepers suffers an injury.
Portugal, the reigning Nations League champions, begin their Group K campaign in the United States, Mexico and Canada against the Democratic Republic of the Congo on June 17 in Houston. They take on Uzbekistan at the same venue on June 23 before closing the group stage against Colombia in Miami on June 27. The overall tournament is scheduled to run from June 11 to July 19.
Martinez said his squad decision was made as “27 players plus one”, referring to Liverpool forward Jota, who died in a car accident last July at the age of 28.
“He is our strength, our joy,” Martinez said. “Losing Diogo was an unforgettable and very difficult moment, but the very next day it was up to all of us to fight for Diogo’s dream and for the example he always set in our national team. Diogo Jota’s spirit, strength and example are the +1 and will always be the +1.”
The coach also defended selecting four goalkeepers and five full-backs, while leaving out several players, including Mateus Fernandes, Ricardo Horta and Pedro Goncalves.
“The complexity of the tournament is very important – the demands of the weather, the time zone, everything we already experienced in March,” Martinez said. “There are positions where we need to have more than two players per position. And we need five fullbacks.”
Martinez pointed to the ability of Diogo Dalot, Joao Cancelo and Matheus Nunes to cover multiple roles, and highlighted Portugal’s attacking depth through options such as Joao Felix, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Francisco Trincao who can operate between the lines. He also noted the wide threats of Rafael Leao, Pedro Neto and Francisco Conceicao.
On Velho’s inclusion, Martinez added that the goalkeeper understands his part in the set-up as a training option, while noting that FIFA regulations allow a replacement only in the case of injury during the competition.
Portugal will build up for the tournament with games against Chile in Oeiras on June 6 and Nigeria in Leiria on June 10. FIFA has also required that the squad is based at their training camp in Palm Beach, Florida at least five days before their opening match.
Portugal squad
Goalkeepers
- Diogo Costa (FC Porto)
- Jose Sa (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
- Rui Silva (Sporting CP)
- Ricardo Velho (Genclerbirligi Ankara)
Defenders
- Diogo Dalot (Manchester United)
- Matheus Nunes (Manchester City)
- Nelson Semedo (Fenerbahce SK)
- Joao Cancelo (FC Barcelona)
- Nuno Mendes (PSG)
- Goncalo Inacio (Sporting CP)
- Renato Veiga (Villarreal)
- Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
- Tomas Araujo (SL Benfica)
Midfielders
- Ruben Neves (Al Hilal)
- Samuel Costa (Mallorca)
- Joao Neves (PSG)
- Vitinha (PSG)
- Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)
- Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Forwards
- Joao Felix (Al Nassr)
- Francisco Trincao (Sporting CP)
- Francisco Conceicao (Juventus)
- Pedro Neto (Chelsea)
- Rafael Leao (AC Milan)
- Goncalo Guedes (Real Sociedad)
- Goncalo Ramos (PSG)
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr)
