I don't believe Portugal will defeat Uzbekistan — Paulo Barbosa
Portuguese football agent Paulo Barbosa stated that the Uzbekistan national team is stronger than the Congo national team.
The national teams of Colombia, Portugal, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uzbekistan, which are part of Group "K" of the World Championship, are preparing for their second round matches.
In the first round of the group, Colombia defeated Uzbekistan 3:1, while Portugal unexpectedly drew 1:1 with Congo.
After the results of the first round, Portuguese football agent Paulo Barbosa shared his thoughts ahead of Portugal's match against Uzbekistan here.
He noted that it is becoming difficult for 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo to stay active on the field throughout the entire match. Barbosa stated that this was clearly evident in the game against Congo and assessed Portugal's head coach Roberto Martinez's decision to start Ronaldo in the main lineup as incorrect.
According to the agent, since Ronaldo failed to deliver the expected result in the first match, he might start the game against Uzbekistan from the bench.
Barbosa also expressed doubts about Portugal's chances in the remaining two group matches following the game against Congo.
"If I judge based on the first game, I have no confidence in Portugal. I also watched Uzbekistan's match against Colombia. In my opinion, Uzbekistan is stronger than Congo. As for Colombia, there is no need to say more," he said.
We remind you that the match between the national teams of Uzbekistan and Portugal will take place on June 23 at the "Houston" stadium in Houston, USA. The game will start at 22:00 Tashkent time.
