Defender Toti Gomes was left out of Portugal’s shortlist of 23 for Friday’s clash with Slovakia and will miss the match which could have guaranteed Portugal’s qualification for Euro 2024.
With only 23 players eligible to be included on the UEFA fixture list, the Wolverhampton defender was left out of manager Roberto Martinez’s selection for the Group J matchday seven.
24-year-old Toti Gomez is part of the Spanish coach’s team for the third time, but has not yet made his debut for the national team and will watch the match with the Slovaks from the stands at the Dragao stadium in Porto.
If they win, Portugal will guarantee qualification for the European Championship, which would be Portugal’s ninth presence at the final stage of the competition and eighth in a row. A draw will be enough if Luxembourg loses in Iceland.
Portugal will be trying to confirm its 13th consecutive appearance in the final between the European and World Championships since 2000 and the quietest qualifying stage in its history, having never qualified and still having three rounds to play.
After six rounds, Portugal retain their overall victory and top Group J with 18 points, five more than second-place Slovakia. Luxembourg is third with 10 points, followed by Bosnia and Iceland (both with six) and Liechtenstein, still without points.
The first two places give direct access to the final stage of Euro 2024, which will be held in Germany.
In addition to six victories in the same number of matches, Roberto Martinez’s team has a record of 24 goals scored and not a single one conceded.
The Portugal-Slovakia match will take place at 19:45 and will be refereed by the Greek Tasos Sidiropoulos.