World Cup Group H: Last dance for Cristiano Ronaldo with Portugal's galaxy of stars

A Selecao have a host of big-name Premier League players ready for Qatar

HOW PORTUGAL QUALIFIED FOR WORLD CUP 2022: (Group A) March 24, 2021. Portugal 1 (Medvedev og 36') Azerbaijan 0. The then reigning European champions begun their World Cup qualifying campaign with a narrow win but it was a frustrating night for Portugal, who had 29 attempts on goal but needed an own goal to seal the points. Portugal manager Fernando Santos said: "We had some difficulties, some problems, it's undeniable. In the second half, the team lacked inspiration and fluidity." AFP

Match 27, 2021. Serbia 2 (Mitrovic 46', Kostic 60') Portugal 2 (Jota 11', 36'): Cristiano Ronaldo was denied an injury-time winner in Belgrade when his shot was ruled not to have crossed the line - and there was no goalline technology available for the match. Santos said: "The referee apologised to me straight after the game and we now have to move on. It was a clear goal but there is nothing we can do now. We controlled the first half but lost our focus in the second." EPA

March 30, 2021. Luxembourg 1 (Rodrigues 30') Portugal 3 (Jota 45+2', Ronaldo 51', Palinha 80'): A Gerson Rodrigues header put Luxembourg into a shock first-half lead but Portugal recovered to secure victory but failed to convince against a team that had won away to Republic of Ireland three days earlier. Santos said: "We started really slow. We spent 30 minutes playing like it was a friendly game, with no intensity. The technical quality is not enough, I told the players that." AFP

September 1, 2021. Portugal 2 (Ronaldo 89', 90'+6') Republic of Ireland 1 (Egan 45'): A last-gasp headed double from Cristiano Ronaldo rescued Portugal from a shock home defeat - and took the veteran striker past Ali Daei's record tally of 109 international goals. Ronaldo also missed a penalty in the first half. He said: "I'm so happy, not just because I beat the record, but for the special moment that we had. I have to appreciate what the team did, we believed until the end. I'm so glad." EPA

September 7, 2021. Azerbaijan 0 Portugal 3 (B Silva 26', A Silva 31', Jota 75'): Ronaldo was suspended for the comfertable win in Baku that took Portual top of of the group after Serbia drew with Ireland. Late in the game, fans invaded the pitch and took photos with Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes. Santos said: “We could have scored more goals, we created several chances. If we had been more efficient in front of the goal, the score would have been even better.” EPA

October 12, 2021. Portugal 5 (Ronaldo pen 8', pen 13', 87', Fernandes 17', Palhinha 69') Luxembourg 0: Ronaldo scored his 58th hat-trick for club and country, taking his international tally to 115 goals, to leave Portugal a point behind group leaders Serbia who had played a game more. Santos said: "We knew that Luxembourg, as time went by, would close themselves back and we had to start strong. That's what we did. I think we had a complete game overall and the most important thing was the result." AFP

November 11, 2021. Ireland 0 Portugal 0: A below-par performance from Portugal, who had Pepe sent off late on for two bookable offences, ahead of their crunch clash with Serbia. Portugal rested Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo and Diogo Jota in Dublin. Santos said: “Am I happy with the result? Naturally. In terms of our position, winning 5-0 or drawing here was the same thing. Of course I’d prefer to win 5-0, but it’s a positive result. Serbia has to play in our stadium to win. I’m convinced we’ll qualify.”

November 14, 2021. Portugal 1 (Sanches 2') Serbia 2 (Tadic 33', Mitrovic 90'). Needling only a draw to qualify, Portugal were condemded to the play-offs after Aleksandar Mitrovic's late winner. The result ended Portugal's unbroken winning run in home World Cup qualifiers which had stretched back to October 2013. Santos said: “We have to apologise. The Portuguese people are disappointed, but they are not more disappointed than us. But my team will be at the World Cup in Qatar, that is a guarantee." Reuters

(World Cup play-off semi-final) March 24, 2022. Portugal 3 (Otavio 15'), Jota 42', Nunes 90'+) Turkey 1 (Yilmaz 65'): Only North Macedonia stood between Portugal and the Qatar finals after Turkey were beaten in Porto. The visitors could have made life very nervy for Portugal, though, had Burak Yilmaz not missed a second-half penalty. Santos said: "These games are finals. Finals are always complicated. We won the first one and now we have to win the second. That's what we're going to focus on." Getty

(World Cup play-off final) March 29, 2022. Portugal 2 (Fernandes 32', 65') North Macedonia 0: A brace from Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes booked Portugal's spot in the finals against a team that had beaten European champions Italy in their previous match. Santos said: "It was a deserved and fair victory. We created opportunities to score and I don't remember any great goalscoring situations for them. We are in the World Cup with full merit."

Portugal were in real danger of missing the World Cup for the first time since 1998, but after scraping through qualification via the play-offs, Cristiano Ronaldo and Co will hope to replicate the glory of the 2016 Euros and 2019 Nations League.

Manager Fernando Santos aims to guide his team to a third trophy in his eight years, although he will be concerned that his side have been largely underwhelming in the last two major tournaments, crashing out in the round of 16 at both Euro 2020 and the 2018 World Cup.

Still, they will be offered a chance for redemption against Uruguay, who ended their World Cup in Russia four years ago.

Qatar 2022 is likely to be Ronaldo’s last dance in international football. The 37-year-old striker is considered the best Portuguese player of all time after making his debut in 2003 at just 18, and he will attempt to make history once again and become the first player to score in five global finals.

This Portugal team boasts a multitude of Premier League talent, with Manchester City trio Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo and Bernardo Siva joining forces with their United rivals Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Diego Dalot, along with Liverpool duo Diego Jota and Fabio Carvalho.

And one of the most exciting prospects of this team is Serie A Player of the Season Rafael Leao. The 23-year-old will dream of helping his international side win their first World Cup after steering AC Milan to their first Scudetto in 12 years last term.

Portugal coach Fernando Santos with Cristiano Ronaldo. EPA

Manager: Fernando Santos

Star player: Cristiano Ronaldo

One to watch: Rafael Leao

World Cup finals: 1966, 1986, 1990, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018

Fixtures: Nov 24 v Ghana; Nov 28 v Uruguay; Dec 2 v South Korea