Portugal name stars in squad

Liam Mackey

Manchester United's Ronaldo and Chelsea's Ferreira and Tiago have been included by manager Luis Felipe Scolari.

The 18-man squad also includes familiar names such as Deco of Barcelona, Nuno Gomes of Benfica and Fulham's Luis Boa Morte.

Having hosted and reached the final of the European Championship in 2004 only to lose out to rank outsiders Greece, Portugal have bounced back in the World Cup qualifiers. Currently topping Group 3 with 13 points three ahead of Slovakia and six ahead of Russia and Latvia their last two competitive games have seen them put seven goals past Russia and five past Luxembourg.

The Portuguese squad is: Goalkeepers: Ricardo (Sporting Lisbon), Quim (Benfica).

Defenders: Ferreira (Chelsea), Andrade (Deportivo La Coruna), Caneira (Valencia), Meira (VfB Stuttgart), Matias (Vitoria Guimaraes).

Midfielders: Costinha (FC Porto), Petit, Simao, Fernandes (all Benfica), Viana (Sporting Lisbon), Deco (Barcelona), Tiago (Chelsea).

Forwards: Boa Morte (Fulham), Ronaldo (Man Utd), Pauleta (Paris St Germain), Nuno Gomes (Benfica).