Portugal coach Fernando Santos says he would've taken Liverpool striker Diogo Jota to the World Cup.

Jota is out of the tournament due to injury.

"You'll always leave someone out," explained Santos. "You'll make one or two exceptions in a very large batch. It's obvious that just look at the batch and 29 players will be left out.

"If Diogo Jota was there, he would still be one more. Of the 55 pre-selected, 29 will be left out. Of the 29, many deserved this word. It wasn't just one, two or three. You'll do something for everyone.

"I think they will naturally be upset. But they know that I make the decision not in relation to the player in particular, but in conscience with what I think the team will need.

"I take the opportunity and immediately apologise, not in the literal sense of the term, but because there are players who, due to their history, deserved to be here."