Jesus announces first Portugal squad after Ronaldo's retirement: and reveals the new leaders

Two new faces and 7 changes in the squad

Roger Schmidt... no. Jorge Jesus, the Portugal national team manager, announced on Friday the list of players called up for the Nations League matches against Denmark and Wales, the first since Cristiano Ronaldo officially announced his retirement from international football.

Ronaldo is not the only absentee. Francisco Conceicao misses out through the three-match suspension UEFA handed him after his red card against Norway, while Paris Saint-Germain full-back Nuno Mendes is out injured.

Jesus also left out Goncalo Inacio on a technical decision, despite the defender featuring on the manager's initial list.

Seven new names made the cut compared with previous selections: Alberto Costa, Antonio Silva, Matheus Fernandes, Carlos Forbs, Geovany Quenda, Rodrigo Mora and Gustavo Varela.

Alberto Costa and Gustavo Varela earn their first senior Portugal call-ups. Rodrigo Mora and Quenda had both joined up with the senior camp under former manager Roberto Martinez, but neither has yet played an international for the first team.

Portugal boast a perfect record, winning their first four matches to seal qualification for the Nations League quarter-finals. They need just one point to clinch top spot in the group.

Top place could be theirs even before they face Wales. Avoid a defeat against Denmark by more than one goal in the next match, and they finish ahead of their rivals on the head-to-head.

Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (Porto), Rui Silva (Sporting Lisbon), Samuel Soares (Benfica).

Defence: Joao Cancelo (Barcelona), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Alberto Costa (Porto), Ruben Dias (Manchester City), Renato Veiga (Villarreal), Tomas Araujo (Benfica), Antonio Silva (Bournemouth), Nuno Tavares (Lazio).

Midfield: Ruben Neves (Al-Hilal), Joao Palhinha (Benfica), Matheus Fernandes (Tottenham), Joao Neves (Paris Saint-Germain), Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Bernardo Silva (Real Madrid).

Attack: Pedro Neto (Chelsea), Rodrigo Mora (Roma), Francisco Trincao (Al-Ahli), Rafael Leao (Galatasaray), Geovany Quenda (Chelsea), Carlos Forbs (Club Brugge), Joao Felix (Al-Nassr), Goncalo Ramos (Milan), Fabio Silva (Borussia Dortmund), Gustavo Varela (Monza).

Jesus also named the five captains of the Portugal national team in the wake of Ronaldo's retirement, confirming the pecking order comes down to the number of international appearances.

Speaking at the press conference, with the details reported by RMC, the manager said: "In the national team, they are chosen based on the number of their international appearances. At the moment, there are five players who have the highest number of matches. And it is curious that they were all players I had at the clubs I coached."

He added: "The logic will remain the same. After Cristiano, the player with the most appearances is Bernardo Silva, followed by Ruben Dias, then Joao Cancelo, Ruben Neves and Bruno Fernandes. Not necessarily in that order, but these five are the captains."