Bernardo Silva has insisted Portugal are determined to beat Uruguay and dedicate the victory to Danilo Pereira.
Portugal defender Pereira, 31, suffered broken ribs in training and is expected to miss their final group matches, against Uruguay on Monday and South Korea on Friday. Manchester City midfielder Silva said: “We want to dedicate this win to Danilo because he is a fantastic player and person. That is why we would like to do it for him.
“But we have a strong arsenal of weapons and we will be ready to play against anyone in this tournament.” The injury to the Paris Saint-Germain defender could mean a recall for veteran defender and hardman Pepe, 39, and the former Real Madrid star is known as a comedy villain.
Portugal coach Fernando Santos admitted the injury to Pereira had affected their preparations but insisted that Pepe will be ready to step in, even if these days he has become a bit-part player.
Santos said of Pepe: “He is a monster. That’s the answer to the question, he has a huge role and of all the players I have he is a huge player. The injury to Danilo is the type of injury no one can explain. We don’t understand how it could have happened. It’s normal you get these injuries but we didn’t see it happen.
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“Initially, we thought it was very serious, but after some examinations - at first he wasn’t breathing properly - he is evolving very quickly and he could be back on the field. We are very sad and, as Bernardo said, because he cannot play for the team but also we are thinking about his health and we need to think about players as human beings.”
Silva has warned that Uruguay will carry a major threat as he picked out Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez and Real Madrid star Federico Valverde, who he described as “one of the best midfielders in the world.” Uruguay were held by South Korea in their first game while Portugal beat Ghana to take control of the group, but Silva warned that they cannot take anything for granted.
Silva said: “Valverde is one of the best midfielders in the world because he is strong, physical and a leader. Both him and Darwin Nunez, as well as many other players from Uruguay, they are very dangerous opponents and players who are in good shape.
“We have identified them as dangerous players and we must keep them on a tight leash. Uruguay are a very different team to Ghana and we also don’t know how they will approach the game because they could be very dangerous because they might have to go for the win and that’s why I think it could be a dangerous game.”
Meanwhile, Silva refused to answer a question on his future at Manchester City even after Pep Guardiola signed a new two-year extension. Silva has been a long term target for Barcelona but added: “I’m very happy to be playing for my national team and I’m happy that my colleagues have renewed. But my focus is on the national team.”
