Portugal 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 kicked off their Euro 2020 campaign with a 3-0 win over Hungary last time out. Having been frustrated for much of the game, Raphael Guerreiro’s 84th minute strike handed his side the lead before Cristiano Ronaldo put the result beyond doubt with two late goals.
The victory was a massive result for Portugal given the stellar opposition within their group, with fixtures against Germany and world champions France to come. Santos’ men face Joachim Low’s side on Saturday evening, however, A Bola have now confirmed he will be without both Felix and Mendes.
The pair are suffering muscle pains and therefore will be not available for Portugal’s second Group F outing, as the Euro 2016 winners look to make it back-to-back wins and book their place in the last 16 of the tournament.
The report offers nothing in the way of a time frame for how long Felix and Mendes are likely to be out for, but it does add that the injuries have been picked up as a result of overexertion.
The news is likely to come as a boost for their opposition with Germany still looking for their first points of the campaign.
Low’s side never really looked like threatening one of the tournament favourites France in their opening game, with Mats Hummels’ own goals securing a 1-0 win for Didier Deschamps’ side.
Even if Germany do get beat on Saturday they’re still not out of Euro 2020, with a win over Hungary on the final day possibly enough to take them through as one of the best third-place finishers.
However, Low will no doubt be keen to avoid having to rely on other teams to ensure his side’s qualification, and their game with Portugal on home turf at the Allianz Arena represents a good opportunity for them to finally get some points on the board.
