World Cup
World Cup: Portugal decimates defensively for draw against Turkey
Portugal will face Turkey for World Cup 2022 qualifiers without their top-four defense.
The loss of Pepe to coronavirus adds to the many problems Fernando Santos is facing for the Portugal v Turkey match in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.
His stopper partner Ruben Dias has been absent from Manchester City’s commitments for a long time due to injury. Wolves right-back Nelson Semedo has also been missing for weeks.
Left-backs also have a problem as Joao Cancello is penalized for the game against Turkey while substitute goalkeeper Anthony Lopez scores and leaves the field with Jose Sa taking his place.
In midfield, Wolves’ Ruben Neves injured his knee in the Leeds game and was also sent off, while Lille’s Renato Sanchez was punished.
Cancello, Sanchez and possibly Pepe are expected to return to Santos if Portugal rule out Turkey and advance to the final of the course where they will face Italy’s winners – North Macedonia – for a place in Qatar.
Sophia Jhon is a sports journalist and author. He has worked as a news editor for Sportish and is now a sport columnist for the same publication. Alberta’s professional interests lie largely in sports news, with an emphasis on English football. He has also written articles on other sporting topics.