Portugal, who are scheduled to go up against Turkey on March 25, have to go into the tie without the services of Ruben Dias. But how will the Portuguese National side do without his service?
Portugal has an ageing central defence with 38-year-old Jose Fonte and 39-year-old Pepe as options. They have more established options at full back with Joao Cancelo, Diogo Dalot, Nuno mendes and Nelson Semedo.
The attack and midfield of Portugal is what catches the eyes of football enthusiasts. World class talents with young exciting prospects pave the way like Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao felix, Diogo Jota and Rafael Leao.
The midfield line up doesn’t disappoint too with the in-form Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva leading the way.
With all the attacking and progressive talents that Portugal possess, they are expected to score goals, but how will they stop them?
Portugal have had a topsy turvy World Cup qualifiers resulting in them having to play the playoffs. A solid defence is vital for them at this stage.
Fernando Santos will be short on options in his quest to replace the centre back, arguably the best in the world right now, at least in the Premier League.
Ruben has one of the highest pass success rates in the Premier League with 93.2 per cent completed passes. His distribution and solid defending has made him a crucial member for Manchester City since joining the club in 2020 from Benfica.
He also plays a pivotal role in the attack heavy Portugal side with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Rafael Leao.
Dias, in fact, leads the Portuguese defence line. But the defender is set to be out for almost a month as he suffered from a hamstring injury in a FA Cup tie against Peterborough.
The whole footballing world awaits what is Cristiano Ronaldo’s last World Cup which hangs in the balance. Even if they overcome Turkey, they potentially have to beat Italy, the current European champions on their way to the World Cup.
Toppling Italy is a tall order itself and now the absence of Ruben Dias raises more concerns already. Cristiano Ronaldo’s side must produce something special to pull off the feat.
Can Portugal dig down deep and somehow pull it off like they always do? Or will Cristiano Ronaldo not get the chance to bid the world cup a last goodbye?
