Sports Mole looks at how Portugal could line up in Saturday’s international friendly with Croatia.
Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to be named in the Portugal XI for Saturday’s international friendly against Croatia, as Roberto Martinez‘s side continue their preparations for Euro 2024.
The 39-year-old, who has scored 128 goals for his country, was rested for Portugal’s 4-2 success over Finland on Tuesday night.
Ronaldo is expected to be in the side for the game against Croatia, though, with the Euro 2016 winners then facing the Republic of Ireland on June 11 ahead of their Euro 2024 opener against Czech Republic on June 18.
Martinez will make changes from the side that started against Finland, with Diogo Costa, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot all in line for starts.
Rafael Leao and Diogo Jota could retain their spots in the final third of the field, though, while Antonio Silva should again be given the nod in the middle of the defence.
Bernardo might feature in a deeper position for Portugal here, with Vitinha and Joao Neves potentially both dropping down to the bench.
Pedro Neto, Joao Felix and Goncalo Ramos will also be among the attackers hoping to gain minutes in the team’s penultimate fixture before the start of Euro 2024.
Francisco Conceicao played the full 90 minutes against Finland on just his second appearance for his country, but the 21-year-old is expected to drop to the bench for this match.
Portugal possible starting lineup: Costa; Dalot, A Silva, Dias, Cancelo; Fernandes, Palhinha, Bernardo; Jota, Ronaldo, Leao
No Data Analysis info