Portugal boss Fernando Santos reveals he will NOT start fab four of Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Felix, Diogo Jota and Bernardo Silva together in clash with France… but refuses to confirm who will be dropped for Nations League tie
- Portugal boss Fernando Santos has luxury to call on exciting attacking options
- Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Felix, Bernando Silva and Diogo Jota can form frontline
- But Santos revealed one will be left out at the start for France clash on Saturday
Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Felix, Bernardo Silva and Diogo Jota will all not be unleashed from the start for Portugal’s UEFA Nations League clash against France, says manager Fernando Santos.
The fab four were rested from the outset in Portugal’s 7-0 friendly win over Andorra on Wednesday but all got some minutes under their belts after coming off the bench.
Santos has the luxury to call on Juventus star Ronaldo, Atletico Madrid’s Felix, Manchester City star Silva and Liverpool’s in-form man Jota but he revealed after the game that only three will start at the weekend.
Cristiano Ronaldo netted his 102nd international goal in a 7-0 friendly win over Andorra
Atletico Madrid’s Joao Felix also scored in the victory on Wednesday after coming off bench
‘Only three of the four play, I will not answer who will play’, he told RTP, as reported by Record.
Both Ronaldo and Felix got their names on the scoresheet, scoring in the final 10 minutes of the encounter against Andorra, following their introductions.
It was Ronaldo’s 102nd international goal, meaning that he is just seven goals shy of former Iran striker Ali Daei’s record of 109 goals.
Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva came on as a substitute in Wednesday night’s encounter
Liverpool’s Diogo Jota also came off the bench in friendly before UEFA Nations League games
On the emphatic victory, Santos added: ‘It is within what we expected. The game was interesting. Obviously it was against a very defensive team and it was necessary to have patience to find spaces, but the team was good in that respect.
‘There was anxiety to score goals and it was a little lacking. But it was a successful game.’
Portugal host France, who suffered a shock defeat by Finland in a friendly on Wednesday, on Saturday evening with both sides fighting it out for top spot in Nations League Group C.
However Portugal manager Fernando Santos revealed the fab four will not all start together