It was impossible for this World Cup to have started any worse for the Portuguese team, as they lost four of their starters and lost their first game of the group stage against Germany by a surprisingly wide 4-goal margin.

With Fábio Coentrão and Hugo Almeida injured and Pepe suspended, it looked like things couldn’t get worse for the Portuguese side, but then the team announced Rui Patrício would also be out for at least the remaining group stage games.

With Patrício injured, that gives Portugal three injuries for an extended period in addition to Pepe missing the USMNT clash (according to Beto’s interview, FIFA agreed on one-game suspension instead of two, so he might play against Ghana). That seems like an issue. Also, Bruno Alves has been worrying the Portuguese staff in practice lately, and those Cristiano Ronaldo thigh and knee problems are not helping either.

Portugal vs USA

Rui Patrício

Rui Patrício is recovering from a thigh injury, which means the 32-year-old Sevilha player, Beto, is probably going in for Patrício since his recent form provides the best replacement option.

Beto started his professional career playing for Sporting Clube de Portugal, but never really had a good season there. He was on a loan to other teams most of the time, until he eventually left Sporting and later signed with FC Porto, where he became a champion, winning the Primeira Liga three consecutive times. He later went to CFR Cluj and SC Braga before he went to the club he is representing Sevilha.

Even though he has had some ups and downs throughout his career, he is always a goalkeeper that knows how to pull some fantastic saves every now and then. His stops against Benfica in the Europa League final – where he had some magnificent saves and helped his team to win that tournament – are probably one of the reasons for Paulo Bento to trust him in a very decisive game against the United States. By the way, he can save penalty kicks–even if he leaves the goalline.

Fábio Coentrão

Coentrão is out of the tournament with a serious injury, which is probably the biggest problem for Portugal so far. Now what? Portugal will have to replace him, either with Miguel Veloso or André Almeida.

André Almeida made his debut as a professional in Belenenses, and later signed with Benfica, the club he has been playing for the past two years.

The inclusion of André Almeida in the 23-man to represent Portugal in the World Cup was a little bit polemic, as he was considered by many to be a very suspicious choice. But the question that is worth asking is: where is Antunes now? Antunes would be right player to fill that gap, but choosing Almeida was probably due to his ability to play in different positions, such as in the midfield or full back. But the right flank would have been more appropriate for this player. Still, Almeida is good defending, probably even better than João Pereira, the problem is he won’t be capable of helping Ronaldo on attack like Coentrão did.

Some Portuguese analysts argue Miguel Veloso should take Coentrão’s place as he is a lefty and as more experience in that position than Almeida. They also think that would be the best choice, since William Carvalho would step in and give the team something different that could be very useful against the USMNT.

Pepe

Pepe is out for a game (we’ll trust Beto’s word) and, even though Luís Neto would probably be “the chosen one” here, Paulo Bento showed us in practice he was thinking about playing Ricardo Costa. So, who would be the best choice?

If we take a look at both players, we can see some different attributes. Costa might be a bit better than Neto when it comes to playing the ball, and being 33 years old, he is a little bit more experienced. He had a rough club season this year, as the Valencia crowd was blaming him and his individual mistakes for some of the team’s losses.

On the other hand, we have Luís Neto, who is faster than Ricardo Costa (quickness might be his weakness) and could play with Bruno Alves, since Alves isn’t fleet of foot either. This just one more problem for the coach to deal with. After all, having to face Dempsey and Johannsson (or Wondolowski) is not going to be easy at all.

It might not be a problem to chose between those players though, if Bruno Alves is really injured Paulo Bento will have no other choice but letting them both start.

Hugo Almeida

Hugo Almeida’s injury was similar to Patrício’s, but in different ways. Patrício’s recent form (especially in the game against Germany) makes these 2 players the ones who won’t really worry the team, nor the supporters.

Éder, or Postiga, that is the question.

Paulo Bento is now relying on these two players for the center forward position. Each one brings different characteristics, as Éder is strong on the ball like Hugo Almeida, has reasonable mobility, and makes a good use of his head at times.

Hélder Postiga on the other hand, is the best Portuguese center forward when it comes to passing the ball and playing with intelligence. His style of play is not that of a “big and strong guy” like Hugo Almeida, but a bit more of a defensive center forward than Éder.

It’s particularly beneficial if the team wants to retain possession and be in control of the game and make plays. Paulo Bento doesn’t need to stick by one of them though, if Portugal plays against the USMNT like they did against Mexico. In a 4-4-2 formation he could use both of them, though I don’t see that happening.

Either way, we can easily assume that Paulo Bento is carrying a lot of problems on his back.

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