Cristiano Ronaldo to lead Portugal squad

04 October 2012 17:48

Portugal coach Paulo Bento unveiled his 23-man squad on Thursday that will travel to Russia on October 12 before returning to take on Northern Ireland on October 16 in Porto, for the upcoming rounds of 2014 World Cup qualifiers.

Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo leads Bento's team that are coming off victories over Luxembourg and Azerbaijan and take on unbeaten Russia at the top of Group F.

The one surprise sprung by the Portuguese handler was the inclusion of 24-year-old uncapped defender Luis Neto, while striker Eder keeps his place after impressing on his debut last September.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Rui Patricio (Sporting Lisbon), Eduardo (Istanbul BB/TUR), Beto (Sporting Braga).

Defenders: Joao Pereira (Valencia/ESP), Miguel Lopes (Porto), Bruno Alves (Zenit St-Petersburg/RUS), Pepe (Real Madrid/ESP), Luis Neto (Sienna, ITA), Sereno (Valladolid/ESP), Fabio Coentrao (Real Madrid/ESP).

Midfielders: Miguel Veloso (Dynamo Kiev/UKR), Custodio (Sporting Braga), Raul Meireles (Chelsea/ENG), Joao Moutinho (Porto), Ruben Amorim (Sporting Braga), Ruben Micael (Sporting Braga).

Strikers: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/ESP), Nani (Manchester United/ENG), Varela (Porto), Helder Postiga (Real Zaragoza/ESP), Pizzi (Deportivo La Coruna/ESP), Nelson Oliveira (Deportivo La Coruna/ESP), Eder (Sporting Braga).

Source: AFP