Cristiano Ronaldo is not getting any younger for the Portuguese national football team, which is why it is important that his other teammates will step it up in order to win the Euro 2020.
Since their Euro 2016 victory over France, there have been newer additions for the Selecao and they have been providing Portugal fans a glimpse of the future.
One can argue that Portugal have a much deeper roster compared to 2016, and that makes them one of the favourites in the Euro 2020 odds to win the European showcase.
Team manager Fernando Santos will remain at the helm given his impressive tenure. And with a formidable squad at his disposal, anything less than a deep run into the tournament will be considered as a major disappointment.
Expectations are high for Portugal in Euro 2020. So here at SBOTOP, we take a look at the key players not named Cristiano Ronaldo who will help the Selecao reach the promise land.
Ruben Dias is Portugal’s rock on the defencive end
Ruben Dias was already making a name for himself back home playing for Benfica. With his imposing stature and physical gifts, he was once sought after by big clubs in Europe.
He then joined Manchester City on a six-year deal in exchange for the aging Nicolas Otamendi. Looking back, the Sky Blues definitely got a huge bargain because of his superb play as of the moment.
Manchester City have been looking for a cornerstone on the defencive end since Vincent Kompany left the team back in 2019 and they finally got it with the 23-year-old centre-back.
After a tough initial teething period, Dias became an integral part to City’s run at the Premier League title this season – leading a virtually unbreakable backline alongside John Stones.
Ruben Dias has been so good to the point that Aymeric Laporte has struggled to earn minutes on the pitch, which is a good problem to have if you are Pep Guardiola.
Dias will be partnered alongside Jose Fonte at the heart of Portugal’s central defence. Fonte may be getting older at 37 years old, but his form has yet to dip playing for Lille in Ligue 1 this season.
Fonte will act as a mentor for Dias and their combination of veteran smarts and youthful athleticism make Portugal a very difficult team to score against.
Bruno Fernandes will be given room to weave his magic
The Selecao are blessed with some of the lethal midfielders and forwards on the planet right now, and one of them is Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes.
Fernandes has been nothing but a godsend for United since his arrival in January 2020 with his emergence as a leader and as a consistent attacking threat for them.
His goal count for Portugal may be few because he hasn’t played enough games for them, but he will be at the fulcrum of their attack from the middle.
His main job for the Selecao is to get the ball forward with timely accurate passes to Portugal’s strikers. And from time to time, he will be called upon to take the penalty or free kick where he is at his best.
Bruno Fernandes will link up with the attack-minded Sergio Oliveira — whose mother club recently sent Juventus packing in the Champions League — and the physically imposing Danilo Pereira on most nights for a holistic approach.
Furthermore, Fernando Santos can also plug in Ruben Neves or Joao Moutinho in there for additional midfield firepower.
The youngsters are going to be fine for the Selecao
Cristiano Ronaldo has a wealth of attacking options beside him which sets them up for the foreseeable future.
Diogo Jota has been lighting it up lately operating across the forward line and he recently almost singlehandedly gave Portugal a win against Serbia.
Joao Felix, who has been a standout for Atletico Madrid in La Liga, brought instant impact for Fernando Santos’ side when he played during their unconvincing win over Azerbaijan in the World Cup 2022 qualifiers.
Andre Silva, meanwhile, has been in red-hot scoring form for Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga this season while Francisco Trincao has been playing well for Barcelona in La Liga.
These talented youngsters have yet to reach their prime and they are expected to carry the offencive cudgels as soon as Cristiano Ronaldo and Bernardo Silva retire from national team duty. Expect them to give us some notable Euro 2020 highlights from time to time.
As long as they maintain their promising core and gain more experience, Portugal will always be in contention for European glory for years to come.
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