Matheus Nunes will miss Portugal's first World Cup warm-up match against Chile after Roberto Martinez said the 27-year-old is not yet fit to train. Portugal have not changed their plans for the midfielder-turned-full-back, but they have taken him out of the squad for the game this evening.
The timing matters because Portugal are already into the final stretch of their World Cup build-up and are using these two warm-up games to settle on the right side of defence. Joao Cancelo and Diogo Dalot are both in the squad and will compete for that role, while Nunes, Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva are among the Manchester City players in the Portuguese camp.
Martinez was blunt about the decision. “Unfortunately, Matheus Nunes is not yet fit to train, so he is out of the squad for tomorrow,” he said. He added that it was “not the time to take risks” and that Portugal hope he will be ready for the second game against Nigeria on Wednesday night.
Nunes has become an important part of City’s reshaped defence. Pep Guardiola moved him from midfield to full-back after he initially struggled for regular minutes, and last season he made 49 appearances for the club, including 34 in the Premier League. He joined from Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2023 and has since become City’s first-choice option at right-back for stretches of the season.
Portugal do not want to rush him back, even though the route ahead is clear. Their World Cup group stage begins against DR Congo in Houston on June 17, and they are due to face Uzbekistan there on Tuesday, June 23. Uzbekistan will bring Abdukodir Khusanov into the same group, and Manchester City will have 19 players at the tournament.
For Portugal, the immediate question is simpler than the wider picture: whether Nunes is fit enough to rejoin the squad for Nigeria. If he is not, Martinez will have one less option in the battle for the right-back spot, and one less chance to test the team before the tournament begins.
