The decision surprised, and much, in Portugal. The selector Fernando Santos decided to leave out of the call for Wednesday's friendly against Israel, the last before the Portuguese debut in the Eurocup, to Joao Felix.
The player of the Atlético de Madrid He was not part of the starting eleven, but he was not on the bench either. Something that attracted attention considering that it was a friendly meeting. And although there was speculation with some physical discomfort, the truth is that the decision was merely technical.
Despite the nature of the match, it was stipulated that only 23 players would enter the call (as will happen in the tournament that starts tomorrow), so Saints He was forced to make three discards before the match that ended with Portugal's defeat of Israel (4-0).
And one of those footballers who didn't even dress short was Joao Felix, who saw the game in the stands next to Jose Fonte Y Raphael guerreiro, the other discards of the Portuguese coach.
A full-blown wake-up call for the mattress attacker, who had started Friday's friendly against Spain at the Metropolitano. Santos bet on him behind Cristiano Ronaldo, but at halftime, he decided to leave the mattress out of the team. He was not satisfied with his performance, neither in offensive nor defensive tasks, and decided to replace him.
And in the last test before the serious, Saints it did not even count on him for the roster of substitutes. A scenario that seems complicated for Joao Felix before the Eurocup premiere, which will take place on Tuesday at 6 pm against Hungary at the Ferenc Puskás Stadium in Budapest, as Portugal scored without him.