The Portuguese soccer team has seven players at risk of missing out on Tuesday’s predictably decisive game against Spain in Group A2 of the Nations League if they see a yellow card on Saturday in the Czech Republic.
Midfielders Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva and striker Cristiano Ronaldo are the three main Portuguese figures at risk, along with versatile Danilo Pereira, midfielders William Carvalho and Matheus Nunes and striker Rafael Leão.
These seven players have seen the yellow card once in the first four games of Group A2 and if they are warned with a second they are sanctioned, a scenario that does not arise for the central Pepe and the midfielder João Moutinho, the former excluded due to injury. to the template and the second not included in the list of chosen ones.
For his part, João Cancelo is no longer an option for the game against the Czech Republic, as he has seen yellow cards in the last two games, when he received the Czechs and in Switzerland.
The Portuguese team began its participation in Group A of the 2022/23 Nations League on June 2, with Spain (1-1), in Seville, where four Portuguese players were ‘yellowed’, namely João Moutinho, Bernardo Silva, Matheus Nunes and Pepe.
The second match was a Portuguese ‘stroll’, in the reception against Switzerland (4-0), and Bruno Fernandes was the only player from the ‘quinas’ team to see the yellow card.
In the third game, against the Czech Republic, in Alvalade, Portugal repeated the four warnings from the debut, with the yellow cards ‘falling’ this time on William Carvalho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafael Leão and João Cancelo.
Without ‘repetitions’, Portugal thus had nine players on the verge of suspension and, in the fourth game, the visit to Switzerland (0-1), the ‘rope’ went to João Cancelo’s team, sanctioned and replaced on the list of Portuguese at risk of Danilo Pereira.
On Saturday, in Prague, against the Czechs, the Portuguese coach, Fernando Santos, has to think about a match that he cannot lose -if that happens and Spain wins, in the reception against Switzerland, Portugal will be out of the ‘final four’ – and also in the following.
If they score in the Czech Republic, Portugal knows that they will always have to not lose to Spain, on Tuesday, in Braga, and will have to win if, after matchday five, they remain, as they are now (seven points against eight), behind ‘eleven’ by Luis Enrique.
As for the ‘red’, only five players risk failing Portugal if they ‘yellow’ with Switzerland, defenders Carvajal and Diego Llorente, midfielders Sergio Busquets and Rodri and striker Pablo Sarabia, a former Sporting player.
Source: TSF
