Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo was left bloodied after a gruesome clash with Czech Republic's keeper during a game with Portugal.
At this rate, it also looks like the Selecao is on the verge of making the Nations League Finals. It’s frankly insane that a player of Cristiano Ronaldo’s caliber is sitting on the bench with a team like the Red Devils who aren’t even Champions League quality. Most clubs weren’t willing to pay his hefty salary and saw the player as a distraction to their current squad.
Portugal went into this one knowing that if they bettered Spain's Nations League result against Switzerland, they would leapfrog them into top spot.
- Nations League.
Fernando Santos admitted after Portugal's win over the Czech Republic that he had forgotten he had Tiago Djalo on the bench.
WHAT THEY SAID: “I forgot that I had Tiago Djalo on the bench, I apologize to Tiago Djalo," he told reporters. Santos admitted after the game that he should have brought on Lille defender Tiago Djalo instead but had completely forgotten he had the 22-year-old available as a substitute. The Portugal manager replaced Danilo with Joao Mario late on in Portugal's win and shifted midfielder Joao Palhinha into his defence.
Victory sets up a crunch clash for the Portuguese at home to Spain. Read more at straitstimes.com.
“The Czechs have a good team, but we were well prepared for them and executed our game plan perfectly. “We knew it could be a difficult game if we hadn’t started with the right attitude. “Congratulations to everyone, we really deserved this victory and now it’s time to recharge our batteries.”