During this period, the teams participating in the Qatar World Cup successively announced the 26-man squad. It can be said that the big roster given by the manager of each team contains a amount of information beyond the data. For example, Mane and Son Heung-min are obviously injured and there is no guarantee of complete recovery during the World Cup, but the Senegalese and South Korean coaches still brought them with them. After all, both of them are the number one stars of their respective teams, and it really can't be said without going to Qatar. And, in theory, they still have a chance to compete, and even go further.
Relatively speaking, those players who did not end up in the squad are unfortunately. And regret and regret are not the same, like Kante and Pogba, who were too injured to participate in the World Cup very early, so there is nothing to say; But those players who were able to play in the World Cup in everyone's impression but were ultimately unsuccessful are embarrassing. For example, Spain's veteran Ramos.
But today we are talking about Portugal.
Portugal's 26-man squad is normal, and the players that should be brought with them, Santos basically brought them. Just connect the nearly 40-year-old Pepe, is also among them. This shows how important Pepe's role is in this Portuguese team. Portugal has a soft style of play, and despite his advanced age, Pepe's experience and hardness are still indispensable elements for Portugal.
And the same veteran, Moutinho is a pity.
Santos' 26-man squad does not have Mudinho's name. The 36-year-old veteran is a representative player of Portugal's post-golden generation. Too often, Mudinho is reminiscent of Rui Costa, who has been a regular in Portugal for more than a decade and won the European Championship with the team for 16 years.
However, Mudinho is far from in form today. Santos did not take him to Qatar, perhaps out of a combination of considerations of his current state of strength. From an emotional point of view, the absence of the Portuguese hero is a little sad, but from a sporting point of view, it may be justified.
Of course, there are regrets.
If it is a pity that Mudinho did not make the 26-man squad, then the absence of one more person is sad.
Mudinho is 36 years old after all, and not everyone can keep up as well as Ronaldo and Pepe. And Portugal also has a talented midfielder, not very old, and from a very high starting point, it stands to reason that he should have grown into the core of Portugal's midfield, but now, everyone thinks too much.
That player is Renato Sanchez.
How to say it? Sanchez failed to enter the eyes of the old coach Santos, which is actually normal, after all, with his current state, he is indeed not the best choice. But Sanchez can't go to Qatar, not only because of Portuguese football, but also because of his own.
First of all, as mentioned earlier, Sanchez's starting point is extremely high, how high is it? At Euro 2016, Sanchez was the best newcomer, and at just 19 years old, he showed maturity on the pitch that was not commensurate with his age. Moreover, becoming a European champion before the age of 20 is almost a benchmark against Mbappe, who lifted the Hercules Cup before the age of 20.
But for now, 2016 is the highest point of Sanchez's career. Sanchez lost himself immediately after moving to Bayern, and after that he moved around several teams, always depressed. The golden boy of Europe was almost forgotten. Although after going to Lille, Sanchez vaguely let people see the style of his peak, but for him, it was far from enough.
If Sanchez can maintain that momentum after 2016, he should be a core player for Portugal by now. But in the few major competitions after Euro 2016, Sanchez performed lacklusterly and had few bright spots. Now Sanchez plays for Greater Paris, the platform can be described as super, but you know, Grand Paris is full of talent, Sanchez is far from gaining a foothold. With his performance this season, he really doesn't qualify for Santos to be brought to Qatar.
That's the sadness of Sanchez's absence from the squad. From his own point of view, the starting point was so high, but the later development was completely different from people's imagination, and a new star of the year was lost to everyone. From the Portuguese perspective, a talented midfielder emerged, but after a few years, it was found to be of great use; When the next time such a player is born, I don't know when it will be.
It would be too pretentious to describe Sanchez as injured, but it has to be said that it is disappointing not to find Sanchez in the Portugal 26-man squad. According to the normal state of development, Sanchez is ironclad to be on this list. And all this can only be blamed on himself.