Cristiano Ronaldo STARTS for Portugal in their final Group H clash against South Korea after missing training this week, as Fernando Santos spins his side with just one point needed to seal first place
Cristiano Ronaldo has been named in the starting line-up for Portugal’s latest Group H encounter against South Korea after missing training ahead of the clash.
Portugal made a perfect start to their World Cup campaign, with wins over Ghana and Uruguay sealing qualification for the knockout stages with one game to spare.
Fernando Santos’ side need just one point to secure top spot in the group as Ghana, South Korea and Uruguay battle it out for the remaining spot in the knockout stages .
Cristiano Ronaldo has been named in the squad for Portugal’s final Group H encounter against South Korea
Ronaldo’s inclusion in the squad comes after the 37-year-old trained alone at the gym on Wednesday, before Santos admitted a day later his star man could miss the game.
The veteran, who is now without a club following his explosive exit from Manchester United, was in the spotlight again after it emerged he had missed Bruno Fernandes’ cross in Portugal’s 2-0 win against Uruguay, despite scoring the goal for himself.
Ronaldo has since returned to the limelight, following reports that he had ‘agreed’ a £173m-a-year deal with Saudi side Al Nassr.
The striker was substituted in both of Portugal’s wins in Qatar but he will have another chance to shine today.
Ronaldo has been substituted in both of Portugal’s group stage matches so far in Qatar
Santos insisted on Thursday that Portugal already had a plan in place should Ronaldo be unavailable, but that plan has yet to be needed.
Meanwhile, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes and Joao Felix have all been benched for the clash.
Then come Diogo Dalot, Antonio Silva, Mateus Nunes, Vitinha, Joao Mario and Ricardo Horta.
Eleven confirmed: Diogo Costa, Dalot, Pepe, Antonio Silva, Joao Cancelo, Ruben Neves, Matheus Nunes, Vitinha, Joao Mario, Ricardo Horta, Cristiano Ronaldo.
South Korea Confirmed XI: Seung-Gyu Kim, Moon-Hwan Kim, Kyung-Won Kwon, Young-Gwon Kim, Jin-Su Kim, Jung, In-Beom Hwang, Kang-In Lee, Jae-Sung Lee, Heung- Min Son, Gue-Sung Cho.
Portugal need just one point to top Group H, while Ghana, South Korea and Uruguay are still battling for a place in the Round of 16.
Fernando Santos chose to rotate his team with Portugal already until the round of 16
Midfielder Bruno Fernandes is among those who dropped out of the starting XI for the clash
Portugal, as noted, need just one point to confirm their place as Group H winners – and in doing so they would face Group G runners-up, which is Switzerland as it stands . The match would take place on Tuesday, December 6 at the Lusail Iconic Stadium, with kick-off at 7 p.m.
Should the unlikely happen and Portugal finish runners-up, they will face Group G winners, currently Brazil, on Monday, December 5 at Stadium 974, kicking off again at 7pm.
Group G will conclude tonight, with Cameroon taking on Brazil and Serbia taking on Switzerland.
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