2014 World Cup: Ghana's opponents Portugal cut squad to 23

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Image caption Paulo Bento

Even though he originally said he would not announce an initial 30-man squad for theWorld Cup, Portugal manager went ahead and announced one anyway last week.

He hasn't had any time with his team yet, but Bento's gone ahead and cut his team to 23 men anyway.

Portugal starts camp this week and won't play a friendly until May 31, when they take on Greece.

Why Bento even bothered to name a 30-man squad if he planned to cut it down to 23 before a single day of training camp and well before any matches were played is anyone's guess.

Goalkeeper Anthony Lopes, defenders Antunes and Rolando, midfielders Andre Gomes and Joao Mario and forwards Ivan Cavaleiro and Ricardo Quaresma were the players cut from the initial squad.

Here's the 23-man squad that Portugal will be taking to Brazil.

Goalkeepers: Beto (Sevilha), Eduardo (SC Braga), Rui Patrício (Sporting)

Defenders: André Almeida (Benfica), Bruno Alves (Fenerbahçe), Fábio Coentrão (Real Madrid), João Pereira (Valência), Neto (Zenit), Pepe (Real Madrid), Ricardo Costa(Valência)

Midfielders: João Moutinho (Mónaco), Miguel Veloso (Dynamo Kiev), Raul Meireles(Fenerbahçe), Rúben Amorim (Benfica), William Carvalho (Sporting), Rafa (SC Braga)

Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Éder (SC Braga), Hélder Postiga (Lazio),Hugo Almeida (Besiktas), Nani (Manchester United), Varela (FC Porto), Vieirinha (Wolfsburg)