Portugal qualified for the last 16 of the World Cup in Qatar as Group H winners, despite lost their last group match 2-1 to South Korea, and have now secured their place in the quarter-finals with a resounding 6-1 win against Switzerland.
Back-to-back wins against Ghana and Uruguay proved enough for Portugal to reach the knockouts. While their preparations for the match were overshadowed by furore over Cristiano Ronaldo being benched, they went on to beat the Swiss thanks to a hat-trick from Goncalo Ramos – who supplanted Ronaldo – and goals from Pepe, Raphael Guerreiro and Rafael Leao, with their opponents only able to muster a consolation through Manuel Akanji in reply.
Fernando Santos’ side will now face Morocco in the last eight. Expect plenty of debate over whether Ronaldo should return to the starting XI.
Portugal’s World Cup 2022 squad
Portugal announced their 26-man squad on November 10, which features a number of Premier League players. Manchester City, Manchester United and Wolves are represented in triplicate, plus there is a lone Fulham player in Joao Palhinha.
Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (FC Porto), Jose Sa (Wolverhampton Wanderers FC), Rui Patricio (AS Roma)
Defenders: Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Joao Cancelo (Manchester City), Danilo Pereira (PSG), Pepe (FC Porto), Ruben Dias (Manchester City), Antonio Silva (SL Benfica), Nuno Mendes (PSG), Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia ) Dortmund)
Midfielders: Joao Palhinha (Fulham FC), Ruben Neves (Wolverhampton Wanderers FC), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Joao Mario (SL Benfica), Matheus Nunes (Wolverhampton Wanderers FC), Otavio Monteiro (FC Porto) , Vitinha (PSG), William Carvalho (Real Betis)
Extenders: Andre Silva (RB Leipzig), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Goncalo Ramos (SL Benfica), Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid), Rafael Leao (AC Milan), Ricardo Horta (SC Braga).
Who are the star names?
All-time leading international goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo will be looking to add the World Cup to his horde of trophies. Ronaldo received man of the match honors in the opening win against Ghana, but Rafael Leao was the highest rated player by Telegraph Sport readers with an 8.3 rating and Ronaldo now has a cloud hanging over him.
Bruno Fernandes is one of the team’s talismans, while Leao is one of those who have impressed at AC Milan this season.
What are Portugal’s results and standings?
Group H
November 24: Portugal 3 Ghana 2
November 28: Portugal 2 Uruguay 0
2nd of December: South Korea 2 Portugal 1
16th round
December 6: Portugal 6 Switzerland 1
What is Portugal’s World Cup record?
Portugal have appeared at the tournament seven times. At their debut in 1966, they achieved their highest ranking ever: third place.
Portugal have appeared at the previous five editions of the World Cup and fell in the round of 16 at Russia 2018 when they were beaten 2-1 by Uruguay.
Argentina | Australia | Belgium | Brazil | Cameroon | Canada | Costa Rica | Croatia | Denmark | Ecuador | England | France | Germany | Ghana | Iran | Japan | Mexico | Morocco | Netherlands | Poland | Portugal | Qatar | Saudi Arabia | Senegal | Serbia | South Korea | Spain | Switzerland | Tunisia | Uruguay | USA | Wales
Latest odds
Portugal is currently a best price on 13/2 to win the 2022 World Cup.
