Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz has dropped Ze Castro from his final 23-man squad for the World Cup.
Pepe declared fit to take his place in World Cup squad
Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz has dropped defender Ze Castro from his final 23-man squad for the World Cup finals.
Deportivo La Coruna stopper Ze Castro has been omitted for the tournament due to positive fitness updates on Pepe and Ricardo Carvalho.
Ze Castro had originally been included by Queiroz due to concerns over Pepe, with the Real Madrid centre-half having been sidelined since December due to a knee injury.
However, Pepe has overcome the serious injury and has been declared fit to take his place in Portugal's World Cup plans.
Chelsea's no-nonsense stopper Carvalho has also been an injury worry recently, but has been given the go-ahead to feature in South Africa.
Portugal confirmed their 23-man squad for the tournament prior to Tuesday's friendly against fellow finalists Cameroon.
Queiroz's side open their World Cup campaign against Ivory Coast on 15th June before also facing North Korea and Brazil in Group G.
Portugal squad:
Goalkeepers: Eduardo (Sporting Braga), Daniel Fernandes (Iraklis), Beto (Porto).
Defenders: Miguel (Valencia), Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea), Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea), Bruno Alves (Porto), Pepe (Real Madrid), Rolando (Porto), Ricardo Costa (Lille), Duda (Malaga), Fabio Coentrao (Benfica).
Midfielders: Pedro Mendes (Sporting Lisbon), Tiago (Atletico Madrid), Deco (Chelsea), Raul Meireles (Porto), Miguel Veloso (Sporting Lisbon), Simao (Atletico Madrid), Nani (Manchester United).
Forwards: Danny (Zenit), Liedson (Sporting Lisbon), Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid).
