Cristiano Ronaldo returns to Portugal squad for World Cup qualifiers

The Real Madrid forward suffered a knee injury in the final of Euro 2016 and in his absence Portugal began their 2018 qualifying campaign with a 2-0 defeat to Switzerland.

They will be confident of getting back on track in Group B against two of European football's traditional minnows and will welcome back their talisman as an additional boost.

Coach Fernando Santos told fpf.pt: "The squad is stronger because it has Cristiano, but mostly because the other players have more minutes, longer work, more training under their belts. This was one of the problems against Switzerland."

That craving for regular playing time has seen left-backs Eliseu and Fabio Coentrao left out, with Dynamo Kiev's Antunes getting the nod.

Braga goalkeeper Marafona and Sporting Lisbon winger Gelson Martins are the other players added to the squad, with Eduardo and Neto missing out. There is also no place for veteran defender Ricardo Carvalho, still unattached after leaving Monaco in the summer.

Santos will field two up front - " Ronaldo and another" - adding that: "Portugal always play with two strikers and will play in the same strategy. It is safe.

"The spirit we showed in the Euro is our trademark and we must keep that. We have to leave behind the European champions 'party' mode, that cannot happen again."

Lopes (Lyon), Marafona (Braga), Patricio (Sporting Lisbon); Alves (Cagliari), Cedric (Southampton), Antunes (Dynamo Kiev ), Cancelo (Valencia), Fonte (Southampton), Pepe (Real Madrid), Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund); Adrien (Sporting Lisbon), Gomes (Barcelona), Pereira (Porto), Mario (Sporting Lisbon), Moutinho (Monaco), Sanches (Bayern Munich), Carvalho (Sporting Lisbon); Ronaldo (Real Madrid), A Silva (Porto), B Silva (Monaco), Eder (Lille), Gelson Martins (Sporting Lisbon), Nani (Valencia), Quaresma (Besiktas).