Cristiano Ronaldo will enter his fifth World Cup with a Portugal squad filled with talented players but that will be missing some national team regulars.
Ronaldo will team up with Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes and João Félix, but among those not included in the list of 26 players selected by coach Fernando Santos on Thursday were José Fonte, Gonçalo Guedes, Renato Sanches and João Moutinho, the player with the second-most appearances with the national team behind Ronaldo.
A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Saturday:
ENGLAND
Manchester United heads to Chelsea without Cristiano Ronaldo but with more confidence after an acclaimed performance beating Tottenham 2-0 in the Premier League midweek.
LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Portugal forward Diogo Jota will miss the World Cup because of the injury he sustained against Manchester City, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said Tuesday.
LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo was included in the Portugal squad on Thursday for upcoming Nations League matches against the Czech Republic and Spain.
Portugal coach Fernando Santos said he is not worried with Ronaldo not playing much at Manchester United this season.
A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Saturday:
ENGLAND
The first trophy of the English season is up for grabs when Manchester City and Liverpool meet in the Community Shield, the annual match between the Premier League champions and the FA Cup winners.
BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) — Liverpool and Aston Villa started building for next season by announcing the signings of highly rated youngsters on Monday.
Fabio Carvalho, a 19-year-old Portuguese forward who has just helped Fulham gain promotion to the Premier League, will join Liverpool on July 1.
LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Liverpool strikers Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino are big doubts for the English League Cup final against Chelsea on Sunday.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said the two players had “no chance” of featuring against Leeds in the Premier League on Wednesday, with Jota nursing an ankle injury and Firmino out with a muscle problem.
LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Sadio Mané has returned to Liverpool after celebrating Senegal's title in the African Cup of Nations and is set to be in contention for the Premier League match at Burnley on Sunday.
LONDON (AP) — Diogo Jota is squeezing every moment out of his understudy role in the Liverpool attack.
Even with Egypt striker Mohamed Salah back available after a month away at the African Cup of Nations, Jota still started and scored both goals in a 2-0 victory over Leicester on Thursday.
LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Liverpool forward Diogo Jota scored twice to reach the 100-goal mark for his club career and give Liverpool a 2-0 win over Leicester in the Premier League.
Jota has now scored in 18 different Premier League games for Liverpool, of which it has won 15 and drawn three, and he is proving an integral part of the club’s challenge on four fronts.
LONDON (AP) — Diogo Jota stepped up in Mohamed Salah's absence with two goals on Thursday to lead Liverpool to a 2-0 victory at Arsenal and into a League Cup final against Chelsea.
While Liverpool coped with Salah's continued stay at the African Cup of Nations with Egypt and Sadio Mané's with Senegal, the rapid return of Thomas Partey after Ghana’s early exit backfired for Arsenal.
WOLVERHAMPTON, England (AP) — Divock Origi’s last-gasp goal gave Liverpool a 1-0 win at Wolverhampton on Saturday that lifted the team to second place in the English Premier League.
Origi collected a smart cutback from Mo Salah in injury time and swiveled before slotting in the ball, just as it looked as if Liverpool would fail to score for the first time in eight months.
Diogo Jota celebrated scoring the quickest goal in the English Premier League this season by sitting on the Anfield turf, crossing his legs and pretending to play on a gaming console.
Liverpool simply toyed with Southampton on Saturday.
LONDON (AP) — Liverpool outclassed Arsenal from start to finish in a 3-0 win in the Premier League on Saturday with a brace for substitute Diogo Jota and a nutmeg from Mohamed Salah to revive the team’s hopes for a top four spot...
So much for Liverpool struggling under the weight of its growing injury list.
Deprived of top scorer Mohamed Salah, captain Jordan Henderson and three-quarters of their first-choice defense, the champions still easily dealt with Leicester -- the team that came into the weekend in first place in the Premier League -- in an impressive 3-0 win at Anfield on Sunday.
LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Diogo Jota marked his first game for Liverpool in the English Premier League with the last goal as the champions beat Arsenal 3-1 for a third straight victory to open their title defense on Monday...