Portugal’s head coach Fernando Santos will be without Joao Felix and Nuno Mendes for his side’s clash with Germany after the pair were ruled out through injury.
The defending European champions started their Euro 2020 campaign with a 3-0 victory against Hungary last time. After 84 minutes of play, the free-spirited Raphael Guerreiro decided to go for goal as he struck the ball from the corner of the pitch. The ball bounced harmlessly off the post, though.
The victory was a massive result for Portugal given the fantastic opposition within their group, with matches against Germany and world champions France. Santos’ men will meet Joachim Low’s side on Saturday night, but A Bola has now confirmed that he will be without both Felix and Mendes.
The pair are suffering from muscle pain and will therefore not be available for Portugal’s second Group F excursion, as the winners of the European Championship 2016 look set to make back-to-back wins and book their place in the 16-year-olds in the tournament.
The report offers nothing in the way of a time frame for how long Felix and Mendes are likely to be after, but it adds that the injuries have been picked up as a result of overexertion.
The news will probably be a boost for their opposition with Germany still looking for their first points in the campaign.
Nuno Mendes is also out with injury / Carlos Rodrigues / Getty Images
Low’s side did not really look like threatening one of the tournament favorites France in their opening game, with Mats Hummel’s own goal guaranteeing a 1-0 victory for Didier Deschamp’s side.
Even if Germany fail on Saturday, they are still not out in Euro 2020, with a victory over Hungary on the last day, possibly enough to take them through as one of the best third places.
However, Low will no doubt be keen to avoid having to rely on other teams to secure his team’s qualifiers, and their game against Portugal at home at the Allianz Arena is a good opportunity for them to finally get some points on the board.
