Portugal at full strength as Slovenia forced into one change
FRANKFURT, Germany - Portugal coach Roberto Martinez has reverted to a back four in their European Championship round of 16 clash against Slovenia on Monday with the same starting team that beat Turkey 3-0 in their second group game.
Portugal made wholesale changes for their final group match against Georgia and paid the price with a 2-0 defeat, but are back to their first choice lineup, including playmaker Bruno Fernandes, who has 10 goals in his last 14 internationals.
Martinez had experimented with a back three against Czech Republic and Georgia. The team will be captained by Cristiano Ronaldo, who at 39 could become the oldest scorer at a Euros.
Slovenia have made their first change of the tournament in their fourth game with Jure Balkovec coming in at left back for the suspended Erik Janza.
Teams:
Portugal: Diogo Costa; Joao Cancelo, Pepe, Ruben Dias, Nuno Mendes; Joao Palhinha, Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha; Bernardo Silva, Cristiano Ronaldo (c), Rafael Leao
Slovenia: Jan Oblak (c); Zan Karnicnik, Vanja Drkusic, Jaka Bijol, Jure Balkovec; Peter Stojanovic, Adam Gnezda Cerin, Timi Elsnik, Jan Mlakar; Andraz Sporar, Benjamin Sesko REUTERS