World Cup exit for Bayern flop! Palhinha not in the Portugal squad | OneFootball

João Palhinha’s season has ended with another major disappointment as the midfielder was surprisingly left out of Portugal’s World Cup squad

Portugal announced its provisional squad for the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday – and one professional with a Bayern past is missing: João Palhinha

National coach Roberto Martinez has decided not to include the defensive midfielder, who is currently on loan from FC Bayern to Tottenham Hotspur. The 30-year-old’s dream of taking part in the XXL tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada has therefore been dashed

Ronaldo leads Portugal once again

The Portuguese squad will once again be led by Cristiano Ronaldo. 41-year-old Ronaldo is set to play in his sixth World Cup – a historic record

In addition to the Al-Nassr superstar, Martinez has nominated numerous stars from Europe’s top clubs, with Champions League finalists Paris Saint-Germain particularly well represented with Nuno Mendes, Vitinha, João Neves and Gonçalo Ramos

Palhinha, on the other hand, is surprisingly absent

Bitter signal for Palhinha

photo: IMAGO

The non-nomination is likely to be a hard blow for the defensive midfielder

Palhinha was actually considered an important part of the Portuguese national team for years, but after his difficult time at FC Bayern and an altogether changeable season, the six-man seems to have lost his sporting importance

Even his loan to Tottenham did not seem to have improved his situation in the long term

Despite the loss of Palhinha, Portugal are once again among the secret favourites for the World Cup title, with Roberto Martinez’s team facing DR Congo, Uzbekistan and Colombia in the group stage

Portugal have never reached a World Cup final in their history, but with a top-class squad, that is set to change this time.