Portugal vs Croatia Nations League preview: where to watch, team news

Portugal face Croatia in UEFA Nations League Group 3 in Porto on Saturday 5 September at 20:45 CET.

Where to watch the game on TV

Fans can find their local UEFA Nations League broadcast partner(s) here

Squads

Portugal
Goalkeepers: Anthony Lopes (Lyon), Rui Patrício (Wolves), Rui Silva (Granada)
Defenders: João Cancelo (Manchester City), Nélson Semedo (Barcelona), Domingos Duarte (Granada), José Fonte (LOSC Lille), Pepe (Porto), Rúben Dias (Benfica), Mário Rui (Napoli), Raphaël Guerreiro (Dortmund)
Midfielders: Danilo (Porto), Rúben Neves (Wolves), André Gomes (Everton), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), João Moutinho (Wolves), Sérgio Oliveira (Porto)
Forwards: Diogo Jota (Wolves), André Silva (Eintracht Frankfurt), Francisco Trincão (Barcelona), Gonçalo Guedes (Valencia), João Félix (Atlético)

Croatia
Goalkeepers: Grbić (Atlético), Livaković (Dinamo Zagreb), Sluga (Luton)
Defenders: Barišić (Rangers), Ćaleta-Car (Marseille), Jedvaj (Leverkusen), Lovren (Zenit), Melnjak (Rizespor), Škorić (Osijek), Uremović (Rubin), Vida (Beşiktaş), Vrsaljko (Atlético)
Midfielders: Badelj (Lazio), Brozović (Inter), Kovačić (Chelsea), Pašalić (Atalanta), Vlašić (CSKA Moskva)
Forwards: Brekalo (Wolfsburg), Budimir (Mallorca), Čolak (Rijeka), Kramarić (Hoffenheim), Perišić (Bayern), Petković (Dinamo Zagreb), Rebić (AC Milan)

Previous meetings

• Portugal are unbeaten in five meetings with Croatia: four wins followed by 1-1 draw in sides' most recent encounter – friendly in Faro/Loulé in June 2019.

• Ivan Perišić’s goal in that match was Croatia’s first against Portugal; they have conceded eight in those games, and have yet to keep clean sheet against UEFA Nations League holders.

What the coaches say

Fernando Santos, Portugal coach: "Wednesday morning, [Cristiano Ronaldo] showed up with a pain on his foot and we sent him to work in the gym. After lunch we realised it was an infection. All of the sudden, he had one toe very red, like it was stung by a bee. The problem was immediately tackled with antibiotics. Today he's feeling better, a dermatologist came by to see him, and we are waiting to see how the situation evolves. But I doubt he will be available for [the Croatia] game."

Zlatko Dalić, Croatia coach: "Our opponents can't be harder; in space of three days, we will play away against the European champions and then the world champions. We respect Portugal and France, but we have a lot of trump cards and we will certainly try to break the negative run we have against both teams. Results in the Nations League are important to us, but our priority is the health of players and preparation for the World Cup qualifiers and EURO 2020."

Next up

Sweden vs Portugal – 8 September
France vs Croatia – 8 September