Portugal’s World Cup preparations took a huge blow as Rafael Leao was sent off in their friendly with Chile.
The nation, captained by Cristiano Ronaldo, were at full-strength going into the clash.
That saw Leao start on the left-wing to service his 41-year-old teammate.
However, manager Roberto Martinez‘s best laid plans went awry in first-half stoppage time.
Chilean star Felipe Faundez went in hard on the winger before then going into another challenge with Portugal full-back Joao Cancelo.
Faundez cleared the ball but clashed with Cancelo as he rolled off the pitch.
The incident saw Ivan Roman barrel in to protect Faundez, with Leao then evening the scores.
However, Leao and Roman then traded pushes before one from the AC Milan ace finally put his 19-year-old rival on his backside.
Teammates swarmed while Roman lay on the turf holding his face, almost in tears.
Both stars, though, were sent off by referee Luca Zufferli in Lisbon.
Will Rafael Leao be suspended for the World Cup?
Ordinarily, Leao might expect a three-game ban.
That would see him miss a friendly with Nigeria on June 10 and their opening two matches against DR Congo and Uzbekistan.
However, FIFA has a recent history of making these bans shorter, with a portion of the ban suspended.
Ronaldo himself is able to play at the World Cup despite being sent off in similar circumstances against Republic of Ireland in November.
He struck Dara O’Shea with his elbow in the defeat earning a straight red card.
In the end, though, he missed just one game – against Armenia, and then had the other two matches suspended.
A FIFA statement read: “If Cristiano Ronaldo commits another infringement of a similar nature and gravity during the probationary period, the suspension set out in the disciplinary decision shall be deemed automatically revoked and the remaining two matches must be served immediately.”
This leniency will also see ex-Brighton star Jurgen Locadia available for the World Cup.
He was given a straight red against Scotland that could have seen him banned for two matches.
However, FIFA reduced this to one, meaning he only misses their friendly with Aruba ahead of their tournament debut.
Are Chile at the World Cup?
Leao’s foe Roman, who plays his club football for Atletico Mineiro, doesn’t have the same worry.
Chile failed to reach the 48-team tournament, and that’s despite CONMEBOL having six qualifying places and a play-off place.
In the end, though, Nicolas Cordova’s men finished bottom of the table, winning just two games.
Chile have now not reached a World Cup since 2014.
World Cup WhatsApp
Don’t miss an update from talkSPORT in our dedicated World Cup WhatsApp channel.
Search for ‘talkSPORT World Cup’ in your ‘Updates’ tab on WhatsApp and we’ll drop the proper, unfiltered football chat straight to your lock screen—no fluff, just pure talkSPORT energy.
It’s where you’ll find out all the new rules to watch out for, England and Scotland reaction and big match player ratings.
Plus there will be loads of debates on the biggest talking points as Haaland, Mbappe, Kane and the biggest names in football descend on America, Canada and Mexico.
