THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LISBON, Portugal — Cristiano Ronaldo will be watching from the stands Saturday when his Portugal teammates open their playoff bid to reach the World Cup against Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The world’s most expensive player will miss both legs of the home-and-away playoff with an ankle injury which has already sidelined him for a month.
"Every team in the world wants to have its best players available. He’ll be missed," midfield playmaker Deco said.
Even so, the Real Madrid forward failed to find the net in Portugal’s qualifying campaign, and Deco believes the Portuguese squad has enough talent to make up for Ronaldo’s absence.
"Football is a team game and we have players to come in and take his place. We won’t be using his absence as an excuse," he said.
Ronaldo’s injury opens the door for his former Manchester United teammate Nani on the right flank.
Liedson, a Brazilian-born striker who recently took Portuguese nationality, has scored twice in his first three appearances for Portugal and is likely to be chosen over Hugo Almeida who recently returned from injury.
Coach Carlos Queiroz also has to address absences in defence. Chelsea right-back Jose Bosingwa underwent knee surgery this week, and Glasgow Rangers defensive midfielder Pedro Mendes — who gave standout performances in Portugal’s last two matches — also has a knee injury.
Valencia’s Miguel is expected to fill the opening on the right side of defence, with Real Madrid’s Pepe taking the position in front of the back four.
The Portuguese were early favourites to qualify from their group but a faltering campaign that included a four-game winless streak saw it overtaken by Denmark.
"Getting this far wasn’t easy," Deco said. "We flunked some important games and now we’ve been given another chance."
Queiroz is giving nothing away about his team selection and tactics for the first leg in front of a sell out crowd of 62,000 at Benfica’s Stadium of Light.
He faces a wily opponent in Miroslav Blazevic. The 74-year-old Bosnia coach led Croatia to third place at the 1998 World Cup in France and has a reputation as a master tactician.
"This will be a game of secrets," said Queiroz, who has barred coverage of his team training sessions all week.
"We’ll be at full stretch" against Bosnia, which hosts the second leg Nov. 18, Queiroz said.
Bosnia finished behind Spain but ahead of Belgium and Euro 2008 semifinalist Turkey in qualifying. Striker Edin Dzeko was the second-top scorer in European qualifying.
Defender Samir Muratovic predicted a tough match in the Portuguese capital.
"I believe that the Portuguese team will do their best to finish most of the job in the first match, but I’m convinced they will not succeed because we have shown that we can deal with teams stronger than Portugal," he said.
Blazevic agreed: "From my players I expect a warrior spirit because only 11 warriors can achieve a good result in Portugal."
Bosnia keeper Kenan Hasagic will miss the encounter and be replaced by Nemanja Supic or Asmir Begovic.
Many of Portugal’s squad have played for years in top European leagues, and Queiroz is hoping that will give the Portuguese an edge.
"We have to make our experience and our maturity tell on the field," he said.