Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes lead Portugal’s final squad for the World Cup

Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo will captain Portugal at the 2022 World Cup.

The 37-year-old has the most caps (191) and most goals (117) in the history of the international side, and as expected, he will skipper Fernando Santos’s team at the competition in Qatar.

Ronaldo is joined in the selection by club teammates Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes, while there are also Premier League representatives in the shape of Jose Sa, Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Ruben Neves, Joao Palhinha and Bernardo Silva.

There is also a spot for 19-year-old centre-back Antonio Silva, who has excelled for Benfica this season.

However, Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Renato Sanches has not been included in arguably the biggest story in terms of absentees.

Pepe, 39, has been named in the squad, while there are also positions for Raphael Guerreiro and Nuno Mendes at the back.

Vitinha and Otavio have both made it, while there is also a spot for Joao Mario, and the experienced midfielder will be bidding to add to his 52 caps at the upcoming competition.

Joao Felix’s struggles for Atletico Madrid this season have not impacted his spot, with the 22-year-old included in the final third of the field.

Meanwhile, Rafael Leao, Ricardo Horta, Andre Silva and Goncalo Ramos will also be options in attack, but Liverpool’s Diogo Jota has not been included due to injury.

Portugal’s best performance at a World Cup remains the 1966 competition, when they finished third, losing to England in the semi-finals before beating the Soviet Union in a third-place playoff.

A Selecao finished fourth at the 2006 tournament, meanwhile, losing to France in the semi-finals before being beaten 3-1 by Portugal in the third-place playoff.

The Navigators have struggled to make an impression in their last three tournaments, though, going out in the round of 16 in both 2010 and 2018, in addition to a group-stage exit in 2014.

Portugal will play a pre-tournament friendly against Nigeria on November 17 before opening their World Cup against Ghana on November 24.

Santos’s side will also face Uruguay and South Korea in the group stage of the competition on November 28 and December 2 respectively.

Portugal squad for World Cup:

Diogo Costa, Rui Patricio, Jose Sa; Joao Cancelo, Diogo Dalot, Pepe, Ruben Dias, Danilo Pereira, Antonio Silva, Nuno Mendes, Raphael Guerreiro; William Carvalho, Ruben Neves, Joao Palhinha, Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha, Otavio, Matheus Nunes, Bernardo Silva, Joao Mario; Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Felix, Rafael Leao, Ricardo Horta, Andre Silva, Goncalo Ramos