What could Portugal's Euro 2020 squad have looked like without the 'Super League' players?
The dust has well and truly settled. The Super League is dead and buried, eradicated almost as soon as it was unveiled, extinguished emphatically by the unity of fans. Football won the night, and the Super League is, for now, just a hypothetical scenario.
With feelings calmer and the expected structure and order of world football restored, we take a look at what the Super League could have meant for Portuguese football.
What could Portugal's Euro 2020 squad have looked like?
One of the biggest sanctions UEFA and FIFA were proposing was a ban on any players plying their trade for a Super League club from playing for their national teams - which would have had a seismic impact on Portugal and their hopes of defending their European crown.
The likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Diogo Jota, João Felix, Ruben Dias and João Cancelo would have suddenly been made unavailable to Fernando Santos, changing the entire complexion of the national team.
If you haven't read it yet, here we put together a predicted Portugal squad for Euro 2020. If we take that squad and look at how it would have been affected by the proposed Super League, it becomes clear what the impact would have been.
Portugal Squad Without Super League:
Below is the predicted Portugal Euro 2020 squad. This is what we roughly expect the team to look like this summer, though there are a couple of positions that are obviously more than debatable. The players in bold, however, would have been unavailable this summer had the Super League gone ahead and the most severe of sanctions been imposed at the earliest opportunity. As you can see, it would have had quite the impact, particularly in the attacking department.
Goalkeepers: Rui Patricio | Anthony Lopes | Rui Silva.
Defenders: Ruben Dias | Pepe | Jose Fonte | Domingos Duarte | João Cancelo | Ricardo Pereira | Raphael Guerreiro | Nuno Mendes.
Midfielders: Ruben Neves | João Palhinha | Danilo Pereira | William Carvalho | Sergio Oliveira | João Moutinho | Renato Sanches | Bruno Fernandes.
Forwards: Bernardo Silva | Diogo Jota | João Felix | Otavio | Rafa Silva | Cristiano Ronaldo | Andre Silva.
Portugal Squad with Super League:
With the bold players taken out, we've made up a new Portugal squad, replacing the Super League competitors with arguably their best possible replacements, and the Portugal squad has a rather different feel to it. Here, the players in italics are the selected replacements.
Goalkeepers: Rui Patricio | Anthony Lopes | Rui Silva.
Defenders: Ruben Semedo | Pepe | Jose Fonte | Domingos Duarte | Nelson Semedo | Ricardo Pereira | Raphael Guerreiro | Nuno Mendes.
Midfielders: Ruben Neves | João Palhinha | Pizzi | William Carvalho | Sergio Oliveira | João Moutinho | Renato Sanches | João Mario.
Forwards: Pedro Gonçalves | Daniel Podence | Gonçalo Guedes | Otavio | Rafa Silva | Francisco Trincão | Andre Silva.
No fewer than eight prospective Portuguese Euro 2020 players would have missed out as a result, showing what a significant impact a Super League would have had on the nation. Thankfully, however, the Super League is a thing of the past - or perhaps maybe still, a thing of the future.
