The exclusion of FC Porto winger Ricardo Quaresma from Portugal's final World Cup 2014 squad saw Twitter erupt on Monday, May 19th.

Although Cristiano Ronaldo’s name is certainly the first that comes to mind when people think about Portugal, the Portuguese national team is made up of several other players whose contributions are vital for the team.

Coach Paulo Bento initially named 29 players aside skipper Ronaldo. Notable picks included FC Porto winger Ricardo Quaresma who scored a wonder goal against Sevilla in the 2013/14 UEFA Europa League quarter-finals. But the 30-year-old attacker was eventually denied tickets to board the plane to Brazil.

Portugal nearly missed out on the 2014 FIFA World Cup after finishing second behind Russia in their group during the European qualifiers. However, a monumental performance from Cristiano Ronaldo powered the team past Sweden in the play-offs. The tie ended 4-2 on aggregate with CR7 scoring all four goals for his country. 

Ronaldo became Portugal’s all-time topscorer after scoring in a 5-1 win over Cameroon in a friendly this year

Ronaldo's record

Portugal’s provisional 30-man roster:

Goalkeepers: Anthony Lopes, Beto, Eduardo

Defenders: Andre Almeida, Antunes, Bruno Alves, Fabio Coentrao, Joao Pereira, Neto, Pepe, Ricardo Costa, Rolando

Midfielders: Andre Gomes, Joao Mario, Joao Moutinho, Miguel Veloso, Raul Meireles, Ruben Amorim, William Carvalho, Rafa

Attackers: Cristiano Ronaldo, Eder, Helder Postiga, Hugo Almeida, Ivan Cavaleiro, Luis Nani, Ricardo Quaresma, Varela, Vieirinha

The list was trimmed to 23 players at 19:15 GMT on Monday, May 19, 2014. Antunes, Rolando, Andre Gomes, Joao Mario, Ivan Cavaleiro and Ricardo Quaresma did not make Portugal's final cut.

Paulo Bento's final World Cup roster [Image by Forca Portugal]

Portugal's final squad

The Seleccão have a tough task at the World Cup as they have been drawn in Group G alongside African powerhouse Ghana, CONCACAF Gold Cup champions USA and world football’s second-best ranked side, Germany.

Group G - World Cup 2014