Porto FC Midfielder Rodrigo Mora was called up to Portugal’s national men’s football team for the first time on Tuesday, as part of a squad for the UEFA Nations League semi-final against Germany selected by head coach Roberto Martínez that also includes Pedro Gonçalves, but leaves out Geovany Quenda.
In addition to debutant Mora, Martínez has brought Gonçalves back into the squad, to the detriment of fellow Sporting player Quenda, in what is the only change from the initial squad for the quarter-final clash with Denmark.
João Cancelo, of Saudi Arabia club Al Hilal, and Tomás Araújo, of Benfica, have been left out of the squad because of injury, while Manchester United full-back Diogo Dalot is also on the 27-man squad, but remains in doubt for the clash against hosts Germany on June 4 and, in the event of victory, the competition’s final on June 8, which like the semi-final will be at Munich’s Allianz Arena.
If the Portuguese lose to Germany, they will play in the match for third place, also on June 8, in Stuttgart.
Portugal qualified for the semi-finals of the Nations League by beating Denmark 5-2 in extra time in Lisbon at the Estádio da Luz after a 3-2 win in regulation time, recovering from a 1-0 loss in the first leg in Copenhagen.
Before that quarter-final, the Portuguese had already won Group 1 ahead of Croatia, Scotland and Poland.
Portugal won the very first Nations League competition in 2019, when they were coached by Fernando Santos, then failed to qualify for the final four in both 2020/21 and 2022/23.
List of the 27 players called up:
– Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (FC Porto), Rui Silva (Sporting) and José Sá (Wolverhampton, England).
– Defenders: Diogo Dalot (Manchester United, England), Nélson Semedo (Wolverhampton, England), Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain, France), Nuno Tavares (Lazio, Italy), Gonçalo Inácio (Sporting), Rúben Dias (Manchester City, England), António Silva (Benfica) and Renato Veiga (Juventus, Italy).
– Midfielders: João Palhinha (Bayern Munich, Germany), Rúben Neves (Al Hilal, Saudi), João Neves (Paris Saint-Germain, France), Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain, France), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City, England), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United, England), Rodrigo Mora (FC Porto) and Pedro Gonçalves (Sporting).
– Forwards: João Félix (AC Milan, Italy), Rafael Leão (AC Milan, Italy), Francisco Trincão (Sporting), Francisco Conceição (Juventus, Italy), Pedro Neto (Chelsea, England), Diogo Jota (Liverpool, England), Gonçalo Ramos (Paris Saint-Germain, France) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr, Saudi).