Portugal head into 2020 UEFA Euro as defending champions having won the 2016 event beating France in the final. Since than they have also won the first ever UEFA Nations League and will be one of the favourites to reach the final again this time around. We take a look at Portugal’s potential 26-man squad and see who is likely to board the plane for the European championships.
Portugal will announced their 26-man squad by 11th May 2021 under the UEFA guidelines but we can predict the squad having looked at their last 12 months competitive international matches. Portugal have a nice blend of experience and youth and we take detailed look at their potential squad and how they might lineup in the first game of the tournament.
Portugal Possible 26-Man Squad For Euro 2020:
UEFA has announced that team can take as many as 26 players for the Euro 2020 tournament in their squads. The squad limit is increased from 23 to 26 just for Euro 2020 considering unusually hectic season and covid-19 pandemic which might force some of the players to drop out.
| PLAYER | CLUB | AGE | POSITION | |
| 1 | Anthony Lopez | Lyon | 30 | GK |
| 2 | Rui Patrício | Wolverhampton | 33 | GK |
| 3 | Rui Silva | Granada | 27 | GK |
| 4 | Rúben Dias | Manchester City | 23 | Defender |
| 5 | João Cancelo | Manchester City | 26 | Defender |
| 6 | Raphaël Guerreiro | Borussia Dortmund | 27 | Defender |
| 7 | Nélson Semedo | Wolverhampton | 27 | Defender |
| 8 | Domingos Duarte | Granada | 26 | Defender |
| 9 | Rúben Semedo | Olympiakos | 27 | Defender |
| 10 | Pepe | FC Porto | 37 | Defender |
| 11 | Sérgio Oliveira | Sporting Lisbon | 28 | Midfielder |
| 12 | Rúben Neves | Wolverhampton | 24 | Midfielder |
| 13 | Renato Sanches | Nice | 23 | Midfielder |
| 14 | Danilo Pereira | PSG | 29 | Midfielder |
| 15 | Bruno Fernandes | Manchester United | 26 | Midfielder |
| 16 | Bernardo Silva | Manchester City | 26 | Midfielder |
| 17 | Rafa Silva | Benfica | 27 | Midfielder |
| 18 | Diogo Jota | Wolverhampton | 24 | Midfielder |
| 19 | Pedro Neto | Wolverhampton | 21 | Forward |
| 20 | Andre Silva | Eintracht Frankfurt | 25 | Forward |
| 21 | Gonçalo Guedes | Valencia | 24 | Forward |
| 22 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Juventus | 36 | Forward |
| 23 | Jao Felix | Atletico Madrid | 21 | Forward |
National Team Coach: Fernando Santos
Since taking over as Portugal head coach, Santos have enjoy massive success winning Euro 2016, leading Portugal to last 16 of World Cup 2018 and winning UEFA Nations League. He also managed Greece before Portugal and guided them to quarterfinals of Euro 2012 and last 16 of World Cup 2014. However even with the massive success at international level, Santos has been criticized for playing overly defensive football and we might see similar pattern in Euro 2020 where Portugal will be a team very hard to breakdown.
Possible Starting Lineup:
Portugal have quality players across the field and they have like to like replacements for almost every position on the pitch. Graphic below shows players available for every position which goes to show strength and depth of Portugal national team.
Players To Watch Out For: It goes without saying Cristiano Ronaldo at the age of 36 will be the focal point of how Portugal play in the Euros this summer. However this Portugal side have now many world class players across the pitch where the likes of Bruno Fernandez, Andre Silva and Jao Felix can contribute to Portugal’s attack.
If we had to pick one player to watchout for it will be Rafael Leao who had a impressive season in Italy and been under the radar for last couple of seasons. However this might be the tournament where people start to take notice of this impressive young player.