Tempo de leitura: menos de 1 minuto
(CNN) Real Madrid star [astro] Cristiano Ronaldo has been ruled out [vetado; está fora] of Portugal’s crucial final World Cup [Copa do Mundo] qualifier [jogo das eliminatórias] against Malta on Wednesday with an ankle [tornozelo] injury [lesão].
Ronaldo played with the injury in Portugal’s 3-0 home [em casa] victory over Hungary on Saturday but lasted [permaneceu em campo; durou (lit.)] just 27 minutes before limping off [sair (de campo) mancando].
Portugal, who have made a late charge [se recuperou; começou a jogar bem no final] in World Cup qualifying [eliminatórias] after looking set to make an ignominious exit [dar sinais claros de que daria um vexame (por não se classificar)], need to beat [vencer; bater (lit.)] Malta in the home game to be sure of a place [garantir um lugar] in the European playoffs [fase decisiva, repescagem].
“After a latest [recente] clinical examination and the impossibility of recovering from the knock [pancada] on his right ankle, Cristiano Ronaldo has been allowed to leave [foi dispensado], the Portugal federation said in a statement [declarou] on Sunday.
Denmark have an unassailable lead [liderança incontestável] in Group One after beating Scandinavian rivals Sweden 1-0 on Saturday.
The results almost certainly means [praticamente garante] the departure [saída] of Swedish coach [técnico, treinador] Lars Lagerback, who said on Sunday that he will resign [pedir demissão, deixar o cargo] if his team fail to qualify [não conseguir se classificar] for the World Cup finals [Copa do Mundo] in South Africa.
Roland Andersson, Lagerback’s assistant, has also signaled [também deu sinais, indícios] he will go if results go against [forem desfavoráveis] them on Wednesday.
“Roland and I will resign depending on the result, either after the World Cup in South Africa, after the playoffs or after the (last) qualifier against Albania,” Lagerback said.
The Swedes are now third in the group, a point behind Portugal, and face [enfrentam; encaram (lit.)] Albania in their final match [jogo, partida].
They must hope [devem torcer] that Portugal, missing Ronaldo [sem Ronaldo], slip up [tropece] against Malta, while beating Albania.
