Portugal have announced their preliminary World Cup squad as injured defender Pepe made the 24-man list. Pepe, a regular in Carlos Queiroz's selection, damaged knee ligaments in December and was a major doubt for the South Africa finals. But even though he has only resumed light training, the Real Madrid center-half was included. One player will be removed from the list before the submission of the final squad on June 1st.
Portugal Squad Goalkeepers: Beto (Porto), Daniel Fernandes (Iraklis), Eduardo (Braga). Defenders: Fabio Coentrao (Benfica), Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea), Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea), Ze Castro (Deportivo La Coruna), Bruno Alves (Porto), Rolando (Porto), Ricardo Costa (Lille), Duda (Malaga), Pepe (Real Madrid), Miguel (Valencia). Midfielders: Tiago (Atletico Madrid), Deco (Chelsea), Raul Meireles (Porto), Nani (Manchester United), Miguel Veloso (Sporting Lisbon), Pedro Mendes (Sporting Lisbon), Simao Sabrosa (Atletico Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid). Strikers: Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen), Liedson (Sporting Lisbon), , Danny (Zenit St Petersburg).