'Ireland fights a lot' - Portugal boss Santos names star-studded squad for qualifier

Portugal's defender Joao Cancelo (L) shakes hands with Portugal's forward Cristiano Ronaldo at the end of the UEFA EURO 2020 Group F football match between Portugal and France at Puskas Arena in Budapest on June 23, 2021. (Photo by Darko Bandic / POOL / AFP) (Photo by DARKO BANDIC/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Portugal coach Fernando Santos has included eight English Premier League players in his 25-man squad for next Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier against Ireland.

Manchester City defender João Cancelo returns having missed the Euros due to Covid-19 but injury rules out midfielders Renato Sanches and João Félix.

As expected, yesterday’s injury scare hasn’t prevented captain Cristiano Ronaldo being included as the Juventus attacker seeks his world-breaking 110th goal in the match against Ireland in Faro.

"Ireland works a lot, fights a lot. If we're not at our best level, we could have problems," said Santos today about Stephen Kenny’s side who lost their opening two qualifiers in March. "The Irish national team played an excellent game in Serbia, for example. You have to respect your opponent a lot."

Kenny has also named his squad for the triple header that also features home qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Serbia on September 4 and 7 respectively.

PORTUGAL SQUAD:

Goalkeepers: Anthony Lopes (Lyon), Diogo Costa (Porto), Rui Patrício (Roma).

Defenders: João Cancelo (Manchester City), Ricardo Pereira (Leicester City), Domingos Duarte (Granada), Gonçalo Inácio (Sporting Lisbon), Pepe (Porto), Rúben Dias (Manchester City), Nuno Mendes (Sporting Lisbon), Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund), Danilo (Paris Saint-Germain).

Midfielders: João Palhinha (Sporting Lisbon), Rúben Neves (Wolves), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), João Mário (Porto), João Moutinho (Wolves), Octávio (Porto), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), André Silva (Leipzig).

Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Diogo Jota (Liverpool), Gonçalo Guedes (Valencia), Pedro Gonçalves (Sporting Lisbon) Rafa (Benfica).