Wilmots facing enforced changes for Portugal friendly
Date
3/28/2016 4:06:06 PM
(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Belgium's head coach Marc Wilmots (2nd R) gestures during a training session of the Belgian national football team on March 26 2016 ahead of the friendly football match against Portugal. - Belgium OUT .AFP / BELGA / Nico Vereecken
Lisbon:Belgium step up their Euro 2016 preparations with a friendly against Portugal in Leiria on Tuesday with a string of first team players missing.
The match was originally scheduled to take place in Brussels but was rearranged to be played in the Portuguese city after the terror attacks in Belgium last week that left 35 people dead.
The match as with the majority of European friendlies over the last few days will be preceded by a minute's silence in memory of the victims.
During the week head coach Marc Wilmots asked his players if they wanted to still play the match in the wake of the attacks.
"If one of them had opposed we would not have played. But they all expressed a desire to play" he said.
Belgium are the world's top ranked team heading into the Euros and are on a five-match unbeaten run but Wilmots will have a depleted side at his disposal in Portugal.
Atletico Madrid winger Yannick Carrasco has pulled out of the squad joining Vincent Kompany Kevin De Bruyne Eden Hazard and Jan Vertonghen amongst others on the sidelines.
"We have got six injuries and other players only at 50%. So obviously I'll have to make some changes but I'll start with the best possible team" Wilmots added.
Portugal will be tough opponents despite a surprising 1-0 friendly loss in Leiria to Bulgaria last Friday in which Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty for the second time in a week.
But head coach Fernando Santos was keen to play down criticism of his key player.
"Ronaldo is talked about wherever he plays. He scores between 40 and 60 goals a season and I believe he's saving his goals for the European Championships" the former Greece manager said.
Portugal kick off their Euro campaign against debutants Iceland in Saint-Etienne on June 14 and will be confident of getting out of a group that also contains Austria and Hungary.
2014 World Cup quarter-finalists Belgium have a tougher-looking assignment; they face Italy the Republic of Ireland and Sweden in Group E.
AFP