Fernando Santos’ facet journey to Qatar in what is perhaps Cristiano Ronaldo’s final probability to win the World Cup.
Portugal suffered a serious World Cup scare by qualifying for the event by the playoffs.
Nevertheless, their performances since then have solely generated extra doubts round Fernando Santos’ doable lineup choices.
Cristiano Ronaldo got here underneath fireplace after the group did not qualify for the Nations League finals in September. However Santos has rather more to fret about forward of the Qatar event.
Let’s check out the principle lineup competitions in Portugal’s squad.
Changing Patricio?
Rui Patricio has remained Portugal’s primary keeper regardless of his occasional errors.
Nevertheless, not like final 12 months’s Euros, Santos has proven severe curiosity in offering Diogo Costa with extra sport time.
The Porto goalkeeper began 4 of Portugal’s final 5 Nations League video games forward of World Cup. However Santos will most probably choose to have Patricio’s expertise within the essential video games.
A strong back-four
Santos has primarily used a four-man line of defense led by Manchester Metropolis’s Ruben Dias.
Dias will most probably play alongside Pepe, who has maintained his place in Portugals’ lineup regardless of competitors from the likes of Jose Fonte and David Carmo.
Joao Cancelo has a sealed beginning spot at right-back, with Diogo Dalot and Cedric Soares offering nice depth for the place.
Santos additionally has a bunch of dependable choices on the left-hand facet of his defensive setup.
Nuno Mendes has remained Santos’ first selection for the place. Nevertheless, the Paris Saint-Germain star faces competitors from Raphael Guerreiro, who was a key participant for Portugal throughout their Euro 2020 marketing campaign.
Midfield: Fernandes and who?
Santos has examined out totally different midfield formations, aiming to stability out his lineup with a dependable midfield trio.
In an anticipated 4-3-3 formation, Fernandes will play as Portugal’s most attacking choice.
Ruben Neves will most probably keep as play behind the Man Utd star, offering Portugal with extra defensive stability.
This leaves Santos with two decisions for the remaining spot. He can both use William Carvalho as a box-to-box midfielder or belief Vitinha as a extra attacking choice.
Having two dependable decisions for this place makes Portugal extremely unpredictable, because it additionally impacts their attacking setup.
Attacking line: The ‘Ronaldo issue’
Regardless of current criticism, Santos have proven little interest in enjoying with out Ronaldo in his lineup.
The 37-year-old has not often did not ship in vital video games and will probably be extremely motivated to bounce again from his sluggish begin at Man Utd this season.
One other excellent news for Ronaldo is that he doesn’t have shut opponents in Portugal’s squad.
Joao Felix has failed to completely regain his greatest type this season, whereas each Raphael Leao and Diogo Jota can play on the left-hand facet.
Much like Ronaldo, Bernardo Silva will most actually proceed his key position in Portugal’s lineup.
For the remaining spot, Leao has a superb probability of edging out Jota as a consequence of nice begin to the brand new season at Milan.
