Ronaldo in, Sanches out: How will Portugal line up at the 2022 World Cup?

Stuart Telford

• 17 Nov 2022 03:37 CST
• 3 min read

Cristiano Ronaldo will lead the line for Portugal at the World Cup despite his recent Manchester United travails, but there was no place in the squad for 2016 Golden Boy Renato Sanches…

Ronaldo may have played his last game for Manchester United after his incendiary recent interview with Piers Morgan, but he can still expect to lead the line for Portugal at the upcoming World Cup.

Ronaldo is his nation's all-time top scorer with 117 goals from his 191 caps, and added six of those in qualifying as Portugal finished second in UEFA Group A behind Serbia. A goalless run of three games in the subsequent UEFA Nations League raised some concern, but his position is nonetheless secure.

READ: Ronaldo falls out with Bruno Fernandes now?

Operating as a No.10 behind Ronaldo will be Bruno Fernandes, his Man Utd teammate who gave him a lukewarm handshake when the Portugal players reconvened for international duty ahead of the competition in Qatar.

He should be joined in the final third by Manchester City metronome Bernardo Silva and nascent AC Milan star Rafa Leao - the latter likely to get his game in the injury-enforced absence of Liverpool man Jota.

There is no space for Sanches, however, the star of Portugal's Euro 2016 win left at home despite swapping Lille for PSG in the summer.

READ: What is the Golden Boy award? Shortlist, rules and past winners

How Portugal could line up in Qatar

His Paris Saint-Germain teammates Nuno Mendes and Danilo Pereiro should make up two of the back four, however. The presence of Mendes, and his understudy - Borussia Dortmund's Raphael Guerreiro - means that Man City's Joao Cancelo plays on his natural right side for his country, keeping Man Utd's Diogo Dalot on the bench.

Behind them could be yet another United player if the Red Devils get their way this winter in Diogo Costa. The Porto shot-stopper has pulled ahead of Rui Patricio as his nation's No.1.