Portugal begin Nations League title defense against Croatia, sans Ronaldo
By Sachin Bhat
European champions Portugal begin their defense of the Nations League title against Croatia on Saturday at the Estádio do Dragão in Porto.
The Seleccao lifted the maiden edition of the tournament in 2019 after beating the Netherlands in the finals in this very stadium, before cruising to secure direct qualification in next year’s Euros.
Given the array of attacking talents in the squad, Fernando Santos’ men are one of the favorites again in the competition and will be keen to make another impression.
Croatia, meanwhile, have also confirmed their presence in next year’s showpiece after finishing atop Group E ahead of Wales and Slovakia and will be looking to continue in the same vein.
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The Blazers successfully recovered from the disastrous run in Nations League’s inaugural edition against England and Spain that included a humiliating 6-0 loss to the latter.
Form Guide
After the fairytale run to the World Cup finals in 2018, the Vatreni suffered a spectacular loss of form, but Zlatko Dalic successfully steered the ship away from the shores of calamity. Now, his team is unbeaten in seven competitive games as things are looking on the up again.
Portugal have lost just once in 16 games since the defeat to Uruguay at the 2018 World Cup, and have also emerged victorious in seven of the last eight games, including the Nations League final last June. Also, the Iberian side hasn’t lost at home in 11 games, stretching back to March 2018!
Team News
The biggest news ahead of the kick-off is Cristiano Ronaldo‘s possible absence after the Juventus star picked up an infection in his right toe. Reports suggest it’s nothing serious, but sitting out of the clash means his wait for the elusive 100th international goal prolongs at least until next Tuesday.
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— The CR7 Timeline. (@TimelineCR7) September 3, 2020
Reported Injury for Cristiano Ronaldo in Portugal training - he's reportedly at risk to miss the the Croatia game. Toe injury has been reported, which has led to an infection. pic.twitter.com/nxvvqaPPzs
While there no other casualties or suspensions, Barcelona‘s newest recruit Trincao is in line to make his international debut, and so are Rui Silva and Domingos Duarte.
As for Croatia, the visitors are set to be without the talismanic midfield duo of Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic, both of whom have been given an extended break due to their involvement in the Champions League with Real Madrid and Barcelona respectively last month.
Ivan Perisic is expected to feature despite participating in Bayern Munich‘s final in the Champions League, while four uncapped players have been called up to the squad too, including Mallorca’s star of last season, Ante Budimir.
Predicted line-ups
Portugal: Rui Patricio; Ricardo Perreira, Jose Fonte, Ruben Dias, Raphael Guerreiro; Ruben Neves, Danilo, Bruno Fernandes; Diogo Jota, Andre Silva, Bernardo Silva.
Croatia: Dominik Livakovic; Tin Jedvaj, Duje Caleta-Car, Dejan Loveren, Borna Barisic; Mateo Kovacic, Marcelo Brozovic; Ante Rebic, Nikola Vlasic, Ivan Perisic; Bruno Petkovic.
Prediction
Two strong teams and several quality players – this one’s hard to call. Both teams can wreak havoc in the final third given their attacking might, but what swings the balance in Portugal’s favour is the home advantage (even though there won’t be any fans inside the stadium). There will be goals, though.
Predicted score: Portugal 2-1 Croatia
Next. Iceland host England in enticing clash of UEFA Nations League. dark