Portugal World Cup 2014 Profile: Cristiano Ronaldo's Injury Could Leave Fatal Hole

Manager: Paulo Bento

World Ranking:4

Best World Cup finish:Third place in 1966.

How they qualified: Portugal had to beat Sweden in the play-offs in order to advance to the finals.

Fixtures: Group G - Germany (16 June), United States (22 June), Ghana (26 June)

Squad -

Goalkeepers: Beto, Eduardo, Rui Patrício.

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

Midfielders: Joao Moutinho, Miguel Veloso, Raul Meireles, Ruben Amorim, William Carvalho, Rafa.

Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Eder, Helder Postiga, Hugo Almeida, Nani, Varela, Vieirinha.

Expectations: Pepe leads a solid backline while Moutinho and William Carvalho forge a talented duo but the truth is that everything depends on Cristiano Ronaldo's fitness. They snuck into the World Cup through the play-offs after struggling through the group stage, and if the Real Madrid star is not fully fit to play Brazil may become a nightmare for them.

Portugal have been missing a consistent number nine for years and their continued presence among Europe's elite teams is solely down to Ronaldo.

Star man: William Carvalho –Aside from the obvious candidate, Ronaldo, Carvalho could emerge as the star man. He is the leader of the new Portuguese generation and one of the finest young box-to-box midfielders emerging in European football.

After an impressive campaign at Sporting Lisbon, a number of Premier League giants have been linked with his services with reports claiming Manchester United are set to pay around £30m to secure his services. High price, high talent.

Prediction: Second round – Should Ronaldo arrive fully fit there are no doubts about Portugal going through to the next round alongside Germany. However, without his leadership and his goals, Portugal will face a major challenge against both Ghana and the United States.