STARTING XI
REMAINING SQUAD MEMBERS
3 best players not in the squad:
3 players make it from Portugal's Euro 2016 winning side, while five make it from the Euro 2004 finalists (Carvalho and Ronaldo were in both). Their best World Cup result was finishing third place in 1966 - 5 players make it from the squad. Germano was dropped from the starting XI after the second game, but he was past his peak at the time. Vitor Damas was very close to the 3rd goalkeeper spot - the margins in this position was quite small. I think Ruben Dias has just about earned his spot ahead of Humberto Coelho and Fernando Couto. Cancelo can cover both sides as a back-up full-back, so there was no need for Artur Correia on the right, who I would have chosen. The starting midfield 3 feels very balanced. No one really stood out as a backup No.6 option to Paolo Sousa. I chose Benfica's Toni in the end, while Deco and Bernardo Silva cover the other 2 midfield spots. Portugal have the third best attacking average of any nation, only behind Brazil and Argentina. The front three are their greatest ever players, with Augusto, Futre and Peyroteo as their back-ups. For the final spot in the squad, I already had enough attacking-midfielders/second-strikers to choose Jose Travassos or Bruno Fernandes, so I chose Jose Aguas as my final pick. A third striker would be much more beneficial. Players By Decade: 1960's (7), 2000's (4), 2020's (3), 1970's (2), 2010's (2), 1990's (2), 1980's (2), 1940's (1) World-Class Portuguese Players (16)
Honourable Mentions (Close to Gold):
Baia / Coelho / Couto / Sousa / Aguas
Top 10 Portuguese Players of All-Time (& their all-time positional rank)
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