Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe in Portugal squad for Confed Cup
The Real Madrid pair join André Gomes (Barça) and Nani (Valencia), on Fernando Santos' list for the World Cup warm-up in Russia.
The organisers of the Confederations Cup 2017 in Russia heaved a sigh of relief on Thursday as Fernando Santos announced his Portugal squad for the World Cup warm-up mini-tournament and included star draw Cristiano Ronaldo on the list.
Ronaldo relief
The Confederations Cup will run from June 17 to July 2 and organisers have been concerned by scant interest and slow ticket sales for the event, a situation not aided by Germany electing to leave the bulk of their names out of the squad.
Ronaldo’s Real Madrid teammate Pepe has also been included in Santos’ squad along with Barça’s André Gomes and Valencia’s Nani.
The Portugal squad will meet up ahead of the tournament on May 29, with Ronaldo and Pepe joining later due to the Champions League final on June 3. The reigning European champions have two games before the Confederations Cup, a friendly against Cyprus on the same day as the Cardiff final and a World Cup qualifier against Latvia on June 9.
Portugal squad for the Confederations Cup 2017
Keepers: Beto (Sporting), José Sá (Porto), Rui Patricio (Sporting).
Defenders: Bruno Alves (Cagliari), Cédric (Southampton), Eliseu (Benfica), José Fonte (West Ham), Luis Neto (Zenit), Nelson Semedo (Benfica), Pepe (Real Madrid), Raphael Guerreiro (Dortmund).
Midfielders: Adrien Silva (Sporting), André Gomes (Barcelona), Danilo Pereira (Porto), João Mário (Inter), João Moutinho (Monaco), Pizzi (Benfica), William Carvalho (Sporting).
Forwards: André Silva (Porto), Bernardo Silva (Monaco), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Gelson Martins (Sporting), Nani (Valencia), Ricardo Quaresma (Besiktas).
Confederations Cup 2017 | Portugal's Group A fixtures
| Sunday June 18 | 17:00 | Portugal-Mexico | Kazan |
| Wednesday June 21 | 17:00 | Russia-Portugal | Moscow |
| Saturday June 24 | 17:00 | Nueva Zelanda-Portugal | Saint Petersburg |
