By Fernando Kallas
(Reuters) – Portugal coach Fernando Santos described qualifying for the Qatar World Cup as the most important challenge of his time in charge as he announced the squad on Thursday.
Portugal will face Turkey on March 24 in Porto, and the winner will play Italy or North Macedonia five days later in a game that will determine one of Europe’s last three spots for the Qatar World Cup, which starts in November.
Veteran Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo has been included in the list of 25 players who will begin training on Monday.
“It’s simple: we need to win, nothing else matters,” Santos told a news conference.
“This is the most important challenge I’ve ever had as a Portugal coach. It’s not the hardest, the most important. We need to be at the World Cup for our people. Tickets sold out in minutes over a month ago. Our fans will be an important factor and we cannot let them down.”
In his eight years as Portugal’s coach, Santos won the 2016 European Championship and reached the round of 16 of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The coach is confident that his team, which went into the play-offs after losing the final group stage match of the qualifiers to Serbia, will be able to advance if they remain calm.
“We are in this spiral of drama that is not positive for us,” Santos said. “We have lost a game in the last seven games. There were things that didn’t go well, but we just didn’t win a game against Serbia,” he said.
“We were very upset about it, but now it’s about taking what’s positive and winning again. Talent wins games, but a team wins championships. The players know this and are in the right mindset.”
Summoned:
Goalkeepers: Rui Patrício (Rome), Anthony Lopes (Lyon), Diogo Costa (Porto)
Defenders: Cédric Soares (Arsenal), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), João Cancelo (Manchester City), Gonçalo Inácio (Sporting), José Fonte (Lille), Pepe (Porto), Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain), Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund)
Midfielders: Danilo (Paris Saint-Germain), Rúben Neves (Wolves), William Carvalho (Betis), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), João Moutinho (Wolves), Matheus Nunes (Sporting), Otávio (Porto), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City).
Forwards: André Silva (Leipzig), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Diogo Jota (Liverpool), Gonçalo Guedes (Valencia), João Félix (Atlético de Madrid), Rafael Leão (Milan)
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