Roberto Mart\u00ednez unveiled Portugal\u2019s 27-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Tuesday, May 19, at the Cidade do Futebol, with a selection that featured few surprises but several notable omissions.<\/p>\n
There were no debut call-ups in the squad, though the inclusions of Samu Costa, Ricardo Velho, and Gon\u00e7alo Guedes stood out. Left out were several players involved in recent international camps, including Ricardo Horta (SC Braga), Ant\u00f3nio Silva (Benfica), Jo\u00e3o Palhinha (Tottenham), Pedro Gon\u00e7alves (Sporting CP), and Rodrigo Mora (FC Porto).<\/p>\n
One player heavily linked in the past few days with a potential call-up was Bournemouth striker Eli Junior Kroupi. The 19-year-old is eligible to represent France, Portugal, or the Ivory Coast.\u00a0 Mart\u00ednez confirmed that the Portuguese federation explored the possibility of bringing him into the squad. However, Kroupi currently intends to represent France.<\/p>\n
Cristiano Ronaldo headlines the squad as he prepares for his sixth World Cup appearance, having previously featured in the tournaments of 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022.<\/p>\n
Mart\u00ednez also delivered an emotional tribute to former Portugal forward Diogo Jota, explaining that the squad was selected as \u201c27 players plus one\u201d in honor of the late striker, who died in a car crash last summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe final list includes 27 names plus one,\u201d Mart\u00ednez said. \u201cTo lose Diogo Jota was an unforgettable and incredibly difficult moment. But the very next day, it became our responsibility to fight for Diogo\u2019s dream and to honor the example he set within the national team. His spirit, his strength, his example \u2014 Diogo Jota will forever be the plus one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0The inclusion of four goalkeepers caught everybody off guard. Ricardo Velho, however, is not officially part of the final tournament roster. Instead, he has been named as an emergency option in the event one of Portugal\u2019s three primary goalkeepers suffers an injury before or during the competition.<\/p>\n
Portugal has been drawn into Group K alongside Uzbekistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Colombia. The Sele\u00e7\u00e3o will play its first two group-stage matches in Houston, Texas, against DR Congo and Uzbekistan before concluding the group phase against Colombia in Miami.<\/p>\n
Portugal\u2019s 2026 World Cup squad<\/strong><\/p>\n Goalkeepers:<\/strong> Diogo Costa (FC Porto), Jos\u00e9 S\u00e1 (Wolves), Rui Silva (Sporting CP)<\/p>\n Emergency goalkeeper:<\/strong> Ricardo Velho (Gen\u00e7lerbirli\u011fi Ankara)<\/p>\n Defenders:<\/strong> Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Matheus Nunes (Manchester City), N\u00e9lson Semedo (Fenerbah\u00e7e SK), Jo\u00e3o Cancelo (Barcelona), Nuno Mendes (PSG), Gon\u00e7alo In\u00e1cio (Sporting CP), Renato Veiga (Villarreal), R\u00faben Dias (Manchester City), Tom\u00e1s Ara\u00fajo (Benfica)<\/p>\n Midfielders:<\/strong> R\u00faben Neves (Al Hilal), Samu Costa (Mallorca), Jo\u00e3o Neves (PSG), Vitinha (PSG), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)<\/p>\n Forwards:<\/strong> Jo\u00e3o F\u00e9lix (Al Nassr), Francisco Trinc\u00e3o (Sporting CP), Francisco Concei\u00e7\u00e3o (Juventus), Pedro Neto (Chelsea), Rafael Le\u00e3o (AC Milan), Gon\u00e7alo Guedes (Real Sociedad), Gon\u00e7alo Ramos (PSG), Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr)<\/p>\n \n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Roberto Mart\u00ednez unveiled Portugal\u2019s 27-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Tuesday, May 19, at the Cidade do Futebol, with a selection that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10713,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","wpcat-1-id"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.soccernoticias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/NunoMendes.jpeg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pdnh7s-334","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11637,"url":"https:\/\/www.soccernoticias.com\/blog\/martinez-announces-call-ups-for-mexico-and-usa-friendlies-for-late-march\/","url_meta":{"origin":11722,"position":0},"title":"Martinez Announces Call Ups for Mexico and USA Friendlies","author":"Psoccer","date":"March 21, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Cristiano Ronaldo has been left out of Portugal\u2019s squad, announced by head coach Roberto Mart\u00ednez on Friday at Cidade do Futebol, for this month\u2019s friendlies against Mexico and the United States. The Al-Nassr forward picked up the injury during a recent Saudi Pro League match. He has since traveled to\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.soccernoticias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/NunoMendes.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.soccernoticias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/NunoMendes.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.soccernoticias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/NunoMendes.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.soccernoticias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/NunoMendes.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.soccernoticias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/NunoMendes.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11213,"url":"https:\/\/www.soccernoticias.com\/blog\/martinez-to-announce-world-cup-qualifier-squad-on-friday-for-armenia-hungary-matches\/","url_meta":{"origin":11722,"position":1},"title":"Martinez to Announce World Cup Qualifier Squad on Friday for Armenia & Hungary Matches","author":"Psoccer","date":"August 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The announcement date for the next national team call-up is available. Roberto Mart\u00ednez will announce his squad for the first two matches of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers on Friday, August 29, at 12:30 p.m., at Cidade do Futebol. 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