After a dismal World Cup campaign, Paulo Bento was allowed to stay on as coach. Porto’s Danilo Pereira played more than Carvalho during the qualifiers but the coach may opt for a Sporting connection in midfield, which would make Adrien Silva and João Mário strong candidates to start, despite little international experience. He equalised from the spot before netting a brace in the second half as Armenia’s late consolation made it 3-2. All rights reserved. Portugal scored 11, conceded 5 and won all bar one of their 8 matches. Coach Fernando Santos will be particularly worried, but less so than previous Portugal coaches. The experienced Tiago, a key player during the qualifiers, has been omitted after an injury-plagued season and Miguel Veloso and Raul Meireles, vital options at the last World Cup, are not part of the squad. José Fonte is the fourth option there. Exactly 12 years, ago, Portugal held its breath as hosts of the 2004 edition. Rui Patrício remains the first-choice goalkeeper, ahead of Anthony Lopes and Eduardo. Alongside him is the 38-year-old ex-Chelsea stalwart Ricardo Carvalho, back in the fold after disagreements with the previous incumbent.Unfortunately, his Monaco team-mate Fabio Coentrao suffered a thigh injury that has ruled him out of the squad. 31/05/2016 at 06:46 | Updated 10/06/2016 at 17:22. During the adaptation period, Danny, Bernardo Silva and Fábio Coentrão were important there but they are out of Euro 2016 because of injury. Portugal defeated the hosts and two-time winners France 1–0 after extra time, with a goal from substitute Eder, to claim its first major tournament title. Cristiano Ronaldo hit the crossbar as Portugal and Spain played out a goalless draw in a compelling friendly in Lisbon on Wednesday.... more » 02.10.2020 14:42 UEFA, FIFA World Ranking: Veloso would net Portugal’s second injury-time winner to avenge their opening defeat to the Albanians, now in Elbasan. The latter will be tasked with protecting Carvalho and giving him options to pass to as the winger’s cut in to receive the ball in midfield and support the strikers or go wide to stretch play and swing it in. That would feature Nani in support of Ronaldo up front but with licence to drift to the right. Thu 9 Jun 2016 05.08 EDT Although the team sometimes looks like it lacks fluency, Santos will be confident that if they stay solid and wait for opportunities on the transition or from set-pieces, they can see out any match. In a 4-4-2, Portugal will employ two ‘false wingers’ to flank a midfield pairing of Moutinho and a midfield hard-man, probably Sporting’s Carvalho. For Portugal, João Mário could play down either side but is expected to start on the right. It shows all personal information about the players, including age, nationality, contract duration and current market value. Strengths: Portugal’s attack is one of the fastest in the world, with a reunited circle from Sporting and Manchester United. Portugalcoach Fernando Santos' 23-man squad for the European Championships: Goalkeepers: Rui Patrício (Sporting CP), Anthony Lopes (Lyon), Eduardo (Dínamo Zagreb), Defenders: Vieirinha (Wolfsburg), Cédric (Southampton), Pepe (Real Madrid), Ricardo Carvalho (Monaco), Bruno Alves (Fenerbahçe), José Fonte (Southampton), Eliseu (Benfica), Raphael Guerreiro (Lorient), Midfielders: William Carvalho (Sporting CP), Danilo Pereira (Porto), João Moutinho (Monaco), Renato Sanches (Benfica), Adrien Silva (Sporting CP), André Gomes (Valencia), João Mário (Sporting CP), Forwards: Rafa Silva (Braga), Ricardo Quaresma (Beşiktaş), Nani (Fenerbahçe), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Éder (Lille). Squad size: Portugal Euro 2016 Squad. Quaresma, Nani and Ronaldo are blinding fast, dribble a lot and can shoot from every angle on the pitch. He can appear to lack speed but that is illusory. Although none of the wins were by more than 1 goal, the resilience, and difficulty with which they earned them should encourage fans. UEFA Euro 2016 Team Preview: Our Prediction Portugal have a really solid unit this time round, with the midfield looking infinitely more solid with players like William Carvalho and Renato Sanches. Portugal began the Euro 2016 qualifiers with a 0–1 home defeat against Albania, which resulted in Bento being dismissed from his managerial post to be replaced by Fernando Santos in September 2014. The UEFA word, the UEFA logo and all marks related to UEFA competitions, are protected by trademarks and/or copyright of UEFA. Newcastle United vs Manchester United, Premier League: What time is kick-off, what TV channel is it on and what is our prediction? © 2020 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Last modified on Mon 19 Mar 2018 04.52 EDT. Ronaldo would be free to position himself wherever he wants and be absolved of responsibility to defend on Portugal’s left flank. The young Portuguese midfielder from Benfica has been a revelation in their midfield. In defence, with João Pereira not included, Wolfsburg’s Vieirinha looks the likely right-back and Benfica’s Eliseu will try to fill the injured Coentrão’s boots on the left, though Cédric and Raphaël Guerreiro are also contenders. João Mário is very intelligent, almost always makes the right decision and can play in the centre or out wide. Use of UEFA.com signifies your agreement to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. Portugal have to finish top of a group which also includes Austria, Hungary and Iceland. With some fresh young faces and only the best of the oldies, Portugal could build on last time’s semi-final finish. With players like Ronaldo and Nani, Portugal will certainly look to take advantage of every set-piece they can; from corners to free-kicks and every penalty. Portugal, France draw, Haaland hits hat-trick Portugal and France lost their perfect records in this season's UEFA Nations League after playing out a 0-0 draw against each other on Sunday. Ronaldo, who will play for another Champions League title later this month with Real Madrid, and other veterans like Joao Moutinho, Nani, Pepe, Ricardo Carvalho and Ricardo Quaresma are joined by younger talents William Carvalho and Renato Sanches, the latter of which just moved to Bayern Munich from Benfica in a $40 million transfer. theguardian.com is running previews from three countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 10 June. UEFA.com is the official site of UEFA, the Union of European Football Associations, and the governing body of football in Europe. In doing so, they became the tenth nation to win the UEFA European Championship, 12 years after losing their first final at home in 2004.