Rodrigo Antunes / Lusa
Roberto Martínez confirmed the worst. “Blow” against Nigeria turned out to be fatal and the captain of the defense failed to make his debut at the 2026 World Cup. Tomás Araújo could take over.
Portugal’s main defender, Rúben Dias, will miss this Wednesday the Brazilian team’s debut at the 2026 World Cup, against the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Houston, in the United States.
The Manchester City defender’s physical problems have been known since Saturday, with the 29-year-old defender being seen from the rest of the work group.
This Tuesday, coach Roberto Martínez confirmed the worst.
“Rúben Dias he is not 100%, so he is not fit for the game. This is not the time to take risks. He is working individually and I think it makes sense to continue with the recovery,” said Martínez at the NRG Stadium, in the pre-match press conference for the first round of Group K.
Since the Portuguese team arrived in Palm Beach, Florida — the place chosen for his internship — the City defender has always worked in a limited way and on the sidelines of the team, despite having arrived well at the camp.
It was in the friendly against Nigeria that Rúben Dias got worse, after playing a full 90 minutes in just five games in the citizens. in the second part of the season.
“Rúben Dias He arrived perfectly at the internship in Lisbon. He worked hard during the preparation and during the friendlies. He ended up taking a blow during the game against Nigeria. Okay, but let’s not take any chances. I think that for a player to play in a World Cup game he has to be 100% and Rúben, at the moment, is not at that level”, explained the 52-year-old coach.
Rúben Dias, aged 29, is one of the most experienced players in the Portuguese national team, with 76 games and three goals, and has become the ‘boss’ of the Portuguese defense since Pepe ended his career after the 2024 Euro Cup.
This season, Rúben Dias had muscle/thigh injuries. The first was at the beginning of January, after City-Chelsea, which would end up eliminating him eight games. Later, between March and May, he missed nine games.
Who will play?
The Portugal-Democratic Republic of Congo match is scheduled for this Wednesday at 12pm local time (6pm Lisbon), in Houston, at the NRG Stadium, and will be refereed by Abdulrahman Al Jassim, from Qatar.
In the absence of Rúben Dias, and given Martínez’s obvious preference for having a left-footed defender and a right-footed defender on the field, he should play Tomás Araújo alongside Renato Veiga or Gonçalo Inácio. But Martínez did not confirm anything.
Debutants Uzbekistan follow on June 23, also in Houston and also with a start scheduled for 12:00 (18:00), with the group closed on June 27, with Portugal facing Colombia in Miami, in a game that starts at 19:30 (00:30 on June 28).
The 2026 World Cup, the first ever with 48 teams, runs until July 19, the day of the final, in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
