Jota has moved a step closer to realising his World Cup dream after the Celtic star was included on a list of 55 of Portugal’s Qatar hopefuls. Fernando Santos will cut those names by more than half when he names his final 26-man squad for next month’s tournament.
But it is recognition for Jota’s outstanding displays for the Hoops with the former Benfica man uncapped at senior national team level after featuring at international youth level all the way up to Under-21s. Jota is currently out injured but the 23-year-old has been a key player under Ange Postecoglou after initially joining on loan before he signed permanently in a £6.4 million deal.
And now his name has appeared alongside superstars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo. Jota played alongside many of the Portugal national team regulars both at youth level and for former club Benfica.
Portugal have been drawn in Group F alongside Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea and the 2016 European champions are fancied to have a strong campaign. Jota has work to do to make the final cut but will be boosted by his inclusion in the provisional squad.
Liverpool namesake Diogo Jota and Wolves attacker Pedro Neto have both picked up injuries and the Hoops man will be hoping to gatecrash the squad. Portugal have a friendly against Nigeria on November 17 before their tournament opener against Ghana the following week.
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