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Come Fan with UsTuesday, June 23, 2026

Portugal vs. Russia: Lineups

Nani only gets a place on the bench for Portugal, with Vierinha and Helder Postiga starting in attack, while Russia send out a defensive-looking team in Lisbon.

Jasper Juinen

Nani is only fit for a place on the bench as Portugal face a must-win game against Russia, although Cristiano Ronaldo shakes off his back injury to startup front as expected.

With Nani not in the starting lineup, Helder Postiga and Vierinha are chosen in support of Ronaldo, with the expected midfield three of Miguel Veloso, Raul Meireles, and new AS Monaco signing Joao Moutinho.

Russia, meanwhile, opt for Aleksandr Kolarov up front, with Viktor Faizulini a surprise starter in midfield. Dmitri Kombarov is also chosen in midfield rather than in defence, making up a rather conservative-looking Russia midfield from Fabio Capello.

Portugal starting line-up (4-3-3): Rui Patricio; João Pereira, Bruno Alves, Luis Neto, Fabio Coentrao; Miguel Veloso, Raul Meireles, Joao Moutinho; Vieirinha, Cristiano Ronaldo, Helder Postiga.

Russia starting line-up (4-5-1): Igor Akinfeev, Aleksandr Anyukov, Sergey Ignashevich, Vasiliy Berezutsky, Yuri Zhirkov; Igor Denisov, Roman Shirokov, Viktor Faizulinl, Dmitri Kombarov, Vladimir Bystrov; Aleksandr Kerzhakov.

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