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Leao set to miss Eagles friendly after red card

From The Punch · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Portugal winger Rafael Leão is likely to miss the World Cup friendly against Nigeria due to a red card received in a previous match.
  • Leão was sent off for punching an opponent during a friendly against Chile.
  • His potential one-match suspension could extend to World Cup group games, impacting Portugal's campaign.

Portugal's World Cup preparations have been dealt a blow with the likely absence of winger Rafael Leão from their final tune-up game against Nigeria. The AC Milan forward was sent off during Saturday's friendly against Chile for punching an opponent.

Leão received a red card shortly before halftime for striking Chile defender Ivan Román. Despite playing with 10 men, Portugal managed to secure a 2-1 victory, with second-half goals from Gonçalo Guedes and Bruno Fernandes. Román scored a late consolation for Chile.

The dismissal is expected to result in a standard one-match suspension, ruling Leão out of Wednesday's friendly against Nigeria. Concerns remain that this suspension could carry over into Portugal's World Cup group stage matches against DR Congo and Uzbekistan.

This friendly against Nigeria is Portugal's third and final warm-up match before the World Cup. They have already secured wins against the USA and Chile. For Nigeria, the match marks the end of a rebuilding phase under coach Eric Chelle. The Super Eagles drew 2-2 with Poland in their previous friendly and have missed out on consecutive World Cup tournaments.

DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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