The biggest omission in this game has to be Cristiano Ronaldo. The 27-year-old Portugal captain fractured his left eyelid while playing for Real Madrid in La Liga last Saturday. This was the result of an elbow challenge by Levante’s David Nevarro during the early moments of the game.
Ronaldo opened the score line with a 21st minute strike in a game that finished 2-1 in favour of Los Blancos. The injured player was substituted at half-time as coach Jose Mourinho took precaution measures.
Reports indicated that Cristiano Ronaldo would undergo tests to his eyes following news that he had lost vision. News broke out on Monday afternoon, confirming the exclusion of the Portuguese icon from the Gabon friendly.
Gabon missed out on qualification for the 2013 AFCON. They lost out 3-2 to Togo on aggregate in the playoffs last month. The first leg ended 1-1 with Emmanuel Adebayor giving hope to the Sparrow Hawks. In the second leg, an 80th minute goal from Daniel Cousin proved to be nothing more than a consolation.
The focus for the 2012 AFCON co-hosts is now on qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The revolution starts now for the Gabonese. Euro 2012 semi-finalists should give the Africans a good test. The match may not be of high tempo knowing that it is only a friendly match. Besides, it will be missing injured playmakers Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Nani which the home crowd in Libreville would have loved to see.
Prediction
Result: Gabon 0-1 Portugal
