faces for Portugal's upcoming friendlies and give
Cristiano Ronaldo a break.
Cristiano Ronaldo has not been included in Fernando Santos'
23-man Portugal squad for their forthcoming friendlies with
Russia and Luxembourg.
The Real Madrid star was rested for their final Euro 2016
qualifier against Serbia, with top spot in Group I already
assured.
Santos has opted to again leave Ronaldo out for this month's
friendly fixtures, with Ricardo Quaresma, Ricardo Carvalho and
Tiago also absent.
As Adrien Silva, Danny, Eder and Fabio Coentrao miss out
through injury, Santos was surprised that questions posed were
mainly about Ronaldo's absence and not the players picked.
"Why only talk about Cristiano Ronaldo when there are five or
six absences?" the coach said.
"Cristiano is indisputable, but this is my decision.
"For a long time it's been said we don't have players and, when I
select others, I am criticised.
"In fact, Portugal has a new generation of players emerging. We
have a lot of players that enable us to make this choice.
"These games are not for experimenting, all players form part of
the group."
Portugal travel to face Russia a week on Saturday before
playing Luxembourg three days later.
Lucas Joao, Ricardo Pereira and Goncalo Guedes could all be in
line for a first senior appearance, while Nelson Oliveira has been
included for the first time under Santos.
Squad in full:
Goalkeepers: Anthony Lopes (Lyon), Eduardo (Dinamo Zagreb),
Rui Patricio (Sporting CP).
Defenders: Bruno Alves (Fenerbahce), Cedric (Southampton),
Eliseu (Benfica), Jose Fonte (Southampton), Neto (Zenit), Pepe
(Real Madrid), Raphael Guerreiro (Lorient), Vieirinha
(Wolfsburg).
Midfielders: Andre Andre (Porto), Andre Gomes (Valencia),
Danilo (Porto), Joao Mario (Sporting CP), Joao Moutinho
(Monaco), William Carvalho (Sporting CP).
Forwards: Bernardo Silva (Monaco), Goncalo Guedes (Benfica),
Lucas Joao (Sheffield Wednesday), Nani (Fenerbahce), Nelson
Oliveira (Nottingham Forest), Ricardo Pereira (Nice).
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