Inside Portugal’s World Cup roster 2026: Cristiano Ronaldo set to lead squad list in final bid for FIFA glory originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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In what is widely expected to be his final World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo seeks to win the trophy at last as Portugal embark on their 2026 journey.
Now 41 years old, Ronaldo nears the end of his career as one of the greatest players to ever play football, but his glaring lack of success at the World Cup remains unquestionably the biggest gap in his resume. The superstar forward has reached the semifinals once — at his first World Cup in 2006 — but has not advanced past the quarterfinals since, only managing to score one knockout-stage goal in his career.
As he helps to usher in a new generation of Portugal stars, they enter as one of the top contenders in the field after triumphing in the latest edition of the UEFA Nations League.
The Sporting News has all the key details on Portugal’s World Cup squad below.
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Portugal World Cup roster 2026
Roberto Martinez is expected to name his final squad on Tuesday, May 19.
Teams had until Monday, May 11 to submit to FIFA an official preliminary list of 35-55 players, from which they are required to name a final roster by Saturday, May 30.
Below is a predicted list of 26 players anticipated to be named to the Portugal roster. Caps and stats are correct as of May 18.
| Pos | Name | Club | Age | Caps |
| GK | Diogo Costa | Porto (Primeira Liga, Portugal) | 26 | 42 |
| GK | Jose Sa | Wolves (Premier League, England) | 33 | 4 |
| GK | Rui Silva | Sporting CP (Primeira Division, Portugal) | 32 | 2 |
| DEF | Joao Cancelo | Al Hilal (Pro League, Saudi Arabia) Currently on loan at Barcelona |
31 | 66 |
| DEF | Diogo Dalot | Manchester United (Premier League, England) | 27 | 33 |
| DEF | Ruben Dias | Manchester City (Premier League, England) | 29 | 74 |
| DEF | Goncalo Inacio | Sporting CP (Primeira Liga, Portugal) | 24 | 24 |
| DEF | Nuno Mendes | Paris Saint-Germain (Ligue 1, France) | 23 | 43 |
| DEF | Matheus Nunes | Manchester City (Premier League, England) | 27 | 19 |
| DEF | Antonio Silva | Benfica (Primeira Liga, Portugal) | 22 | 20 |
| DEF | Renato Veiga | Villarreal (La Liga, Spain) | 22 | 11 |
| MID | Samu Costa | Mallorca (La Liga, Spain) | 25 | 4 |
| MID | Bruno Fernandes | Manchester United (Premier League, England) | 31 | 87 |
| MID | Mateus Fernandes | West Ham (Premier League, England) | 21 | 1 |
| MID | Joao Neves | Paris Saint-Germain (Ligue 1, France) | 21 | 21 |
| MID | Ruben Neves | Al Hilal (Pro League, Saudi Arabia) | 29 | 65 |
| MID | Joao Palhinha | Bayern Munich (Bundesliga, Germany) Currently on loan at Tottenham |
30 | 38 |
| MID | Bernardo Silva | Manchester City (Premier League, England) | 31 | 107 |
| MID | Vitinha | Paris Saint-Germain (Ligue 1, France) | 26 | 37 |
| FWD | Francisco Conceicao | Juventus (Serie A, Italy) | 23 | 15 |
| FWD | Joao Felix | Al Nassr (Pro League, Saudi Arabia) | 26 | 52 |
| FWD | Goncalo Guedes | Real Sociedad (La Liga, Spain) | 29 | 33 |
| FWD | Rafael Leao | AC Milan (Serie A, Italy) | 26 | 43 |
| FWD | Pedro Neto | Chelsea (Premier League, England) | 26 | 23 |
| FWD | Goncalo Ramos | Paris Saint-Germain (Ligue 1, France) | 24 | 24 |
| FWD | Cristiano Ronaldo | Al Nassr (Pro League, Saudi Arabia) | 41 | 226 |
Portugal World Cup squad analysis
While Ronaldo remains the face of this Portugal team, he is no longer the squad’s most important star.
That honour belongs to Bruno Fernandes, who, at 31 years old, remains an electric midfield creator in the centre of the pitch. He has challenged the Premier League assists record this season and finished the 2025/26 campaign as the league’s best chance creator by a mile.
The defensive and midfield units on this team are bursting with talent, but the front line lacks bite. One of the biggest questions for Martinez to answer is whether to bring struggling Rafael Leao to the World Cup. The AC Milan star has scored just nine goals and assisted three others this season in Serie A play, far below his usual standards.
If Leao does come on the trip, what will his role be in the attack? He has only netted five times in 43 international caps.
Portugal injuries ahead of World Cup
Portugal have a largely clean bill of health coming into the World Cup, as they are not without any key players that will miss out as of mid-May.
Rafael Leao, Diogo Costa, and Ronaldo missed out on March international duty because of niggling fitness concerns, but they are all back fit as the summer rolls around.
Portugal players to watch at World Cup
Beyond Ronaldo and the legendary aura he carries with him at all times, Bruno Fernandes is the star performer to keep an eye on as Portugal look to navigate the expanded World Cup.
Many of Portugal’s best players are also club teammates at French giants Paris Saint-Germain. Vitinha and Joao Neves make up the crux of their world-class midfield, while Nuno Mendes has developed into a top-five full-back in the world.
It will be fascinating to see how Joao Felix and Leao perform at the World Cup, as two players who have seemingly already passed their peak but are still both just 26 years old.
Who is Portugal coach at the World Cup?
Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez has been in charge of the national team since he took over in January 2023, replacing Fernando Santos who left after the 2022 World Cup.
After a club career that saw him lead Swansea City, Wigan Athletic, and Everton all in England, this is Martinez’s second straight national-team gig, having helmed Belgium at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. The Red Devils achieved a third-place finish in Russia, their best-ever result at a World Cup, but they crashed out in the group stage in 2022, leading to his resignation.
Martinez led Portugal to a quarterfinal spot at Euro 2024, where they were ousted by France on penalties, before winning the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League title by beating Denmark, Germany, and then Spain on spot-kicks in the final.
Can Portugal replace players on World Cup roster?
Once the final roster is official, participating teams at the World Cup could only make changes before the first game of the tournament, and only in the case of extraordinary circumstances.
According to the official tournament rules (page 32), “a player listed on the final list may only be replaced in the event of serious injury or illness up until 24 hours before the start of his team’s first match.”
Portugal World Cup qualifying results
Portugal finished in first place in UEFA Group F, securing their automatic place in the draw in November by clobbering Armenia by a 9-1 score. Portugal had 13 points from six games and a three-point advantage over second-place Republic of Ireland.
Portugal World Cup history
This will be Ronaldo’s sixth World Cup and it underlines his towering place in his nation’s football history when we consider this will only be the Selecao’s ninth appearance overall. Ronaldo has played in five of those, although they have not done any better than the fourth place he helped them to in his first tournament back in 2006. Portugal came third on their World Cup debut in England in 1966, when the great Eusebio was top scorer.
Martinez’s side finished top of UEFA Group F to seal automatic qualification, although Ronaldo’s red card in the defeat to the Republic of Ireland in Dublin meant he was at risk of missing the opening games of the group stage until FIFA’s reprieve. Some observers might suggest that not having Ronaldo is no bad thing, with the more youthful talents of Joao Neves and Rafael Leao given room to author their own World Cup stories. The 2026 tournament is also likely to be an emotional one for Portugal, as they compete for the greatest prize a year on from the tragic death of their forward Diogo Jota.
- Current FIFA World Ranking: No. 5 (March 2026)
- World Cup titles: 0
- World Cup appearances (last): 8 (Qatar 2022)
- How Portugal qualified, W-L-D: UEFA Group F winners, 4-1-1
- World Cup record:
- Games: 35 GP (17 W, 6 D, 12 L)
- Goal difference: +20 (61 GS, 41 GA)
Portugal World Cup schedule
Portugal, as a Pot 1 team, were drawn into Group K. Their competitors in the group will be Colombia, Uzbekistan, and DR Congo who qualified out of the intercontinental playoff.
| Team | PTS | GP | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Colombia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Uzbekistan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DR Congo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Portugal and Group K match schedule
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