Bernardo Silva is not playing against the Irish, Santoš is not thinking about Serbia

The coach of Portugal, Fernando Santos, said today that he cannot count on Bernardo Silva in the upcoming World Cup qualifier against the Republic of Ireland, but that he believes he will be ready for the decisive duel against Serbia.

"We believe that Bernardo will be available for the match against Serbia on Sunday. He came tired, he complained that he played a lot of games and could not go to training, but he is recovering well and we believe that he will be able to play against Serbia," he said Santoš at the press conference.

Portugal, who are a point behind Serbia, who are at the head of Group A of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, visit the Republic of Ireland tomorrow (20:45).

With six players facing suspension due to yellow cards (Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Jose Fonte, Joao Palinha, Renato Sanchez and Diogo Jota), Santos said: "The most important game is against Ireland".

"We will put together a strong team. It will be a difficult game, in Portugal they showed that they are a competitive team. They never give up, they don't back down and they fight," said the Portugal coach.