The national coach, Fernando Santos, confirmed this Thursday that Nuno Mendes “will be left out of the World Cup”, but he remains in the group by his own choice, with the authorization of the club he represents, Paris Saint-Germán, and revealed that the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo in the game against South Korea depends on training this afternoon.
The captain of the team was replaced in the two games in which he has participated so far, so, the coach guarantees, “there is a plan” in case he cannot play.
“Let’s see, in principle he will train later and, if he’s fit… Right now I don’t even know if it’s 50/50, it depends on the training. If he trains normally, of course it’s part of that.” batch of 20 outfield players who are going to be available,” he explained, after Cristiano Ronaldo only did occasional recovery jobs this Wednesday.
Left-back Nuno Mendes “unfortunately will be out of this World Cup”, but he will stay in the group “until the end”. PSG, which he represents, “adhered and what he could do there” [em termos de recuperação] You can do it here too. He expressed his willingness to be with us. This reflects the state of mind and the unity of this group”, said the coach, at a press conference.
In the preview of the game against South Korea, this Friday, Fernando Santos warned of the first two games for the Asians, in which he was “tremendous”, and warned of a “fast and very objective” team, with “many people in very high front and sides” and defensively “very well organized”.
Portugal, for its part, “continues in a process of evolution, which is perfectly normal”, from a generation that “began in 2018” but continues to “grow a lot” and naturally. With “total confidence in all the players”, he regrets not being able to have three for this Friday: Danilo, Otávio and Nuno Mendes.
In addition to these, there are others who begin to “accuse the fatigue” because they are playing every four days. Added to these limitations is the need to manage the team’s yellow cards, since, in this tournament, two of them are equivalent to a one-match suspension.
Without “sleeping”, but being “sad” at not being able to count on some players, Fernando Santos assures that he is not “worried”, especially because Portugal “has one of the best teams” in this World Cup.
“In shape”, Pepe did not play against Ghana due to “coach’s option”
The first to respond, the 39-year-old central defender, still does not know if this is the “last” World Cup he has played, but says he hopes that António Silva -new to the squad- “can make his way” both in the national team and in the club that represents Benfica.
asked by TSF On whether he could play all the games until the final, Pepe says he does not understand “such a problem” and guarantees that, if he is in the national team, he is “fit”, revealing that he did not play against Ghana “by choice of the coach”.
“I tried to respond in the best possible way to what the coach was asking of me,” he also revealed about the moment he was called up to the eleven after Danilo’s injury.
On whether the team is prepared to give Portugal “a joy”, Pepe guaranteed that the team “is working” to be world champion, but the path “is still difficult”.
The defender sees in South Korea a group of players who “work a lot on the field” and who are also “very organized”, but he did not want to highlight the individualities of the team led by Paulo Bento. Even so, he pointed out that, having already worked with the coach, he knows that they will bet on the “counterattack”.
training this afternoon
The Portuguese soccer team carries out its last training session this afternoon before the match with South Korea, the last of Group H of the 2022 World Cup, in a session in which Cristiano Ronaldo should be available again.
The session is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. local time (2:30 p.m. in Lisbon), at the Al-Shananiya training center. Danilo Pereira and Otávio will be the only ones absent from the match, as they are recovering from their respective injuries. Nuno Mendes will not play again in this World Cup.
Portugal and South Korea will face each other this Friday, starting at 6:00 p.m. local time (3:00 p.m. in Lisbon), at the Education City Stadium, in Doha.
The team from the corners, which has already qualified for the round of 16 after the win over Uruguay (2-0), leads Group H, with six points, three more than Ghana, second, and five more than the South Koreans, trained of Paulo Bento, and Uruguayans, who, in turn, face the Ghanaians.
Source: TSF
