Portugal reportedly name provisional 55-man squad for 2022 FIFA World Cup; Liverpool star receives surprise call up
Liverpool attacker Fabio Carvalho has emerged as a surprise inclusion in Portugal's provisional 55-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, according to Maisfutebol.
The latest edition of the FIFA World Cup will kick off in Qatar in less than a month's time. While fans eagerly await the start of the event, national teams continue their preparations for the tournament.
As per protocol, teams were required to submit a preliminary squad consisting of 35-55 players to FIFA last week. Being one of the 32 teams participating in the competition, Portugal did so on Friday (October 21).
The preliminary squad that the Portuguese Football Association submitted to FIFA consists of 55 players, according to the aforementioned source. Liverpool attacker Carvalho is among those named on the list.
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Portugal have five goalkeepers in their provisional squad, with Diogo Costa, Rui Patricio, Jose Sa, Rui Silva and Anthony Lopes included. Manchester United's Diogo Dalot, Manchester City's Joao Cancelo and Arsenal's Cedric Soares are among the 10 full-backs on the list.
Manchester City's Ruben Dias, former Real Madrid man Pepe and Paris Saint-Germain's Danilo Pereira are three of the 11 centre-backs in the squad. Portugal have also named 15 midfielders on their roster.
Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes, Manchester City's Bernardo Silva and Arsenal's Fabio Viera have also been named on the list. Liverpool's Carvalho, though, appears to be a surprise inclusion.
Fernando Santos' side have 14 forwards, including five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo in their squad. It now remains to be seen who will make the list for the World Cup in Qatar.
While Santos has named 55 players in his provisional squad, he will be forced to leave 29 of them out in his final list. Teams are required to submit their final squad for the World Cup before November 14.
Portugal start FIFA World Cup campaign on November 24
Santos and Co. will kick-off their FIFA World Cup campaign in Qatar on November 24. They are scheduled to lock horns with Nigeria in a friendly on November 17, three days before the start of the tournament.
The Selecao will face Ghana in their first match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Apart from the African nation, they will go up against Uruguay and South Korea in Group H of the competition.
Portugal are one of only three European teams that will not face another side from the continent in the group stage. While they are expected to earn qualification into the knockout rounds, it remains to be seen if they can go all the way in Qatar.