MOSCOW, June 23 (Xinhua) -- Portugal could be without key central midfielder Joao Moutinho for their decisive Group B qualifying game against Iran in Saransk's Mordovia Arena on Monday.
Moutinho was one of Portugal's best players in their 1-0 win over Morocco on June 20th and provided the assist with the set piece which saw Cristiano Ronaldo score the only goal of the game in the fourth minute.
However, he was unable to train on Saturday due to illness after also being forced to sit out Friday's session for rh same reason as Portugal prepare for their game against Iran.
The Portuguese go into their final group game with four points, following the win over Morocco and the 3-3 draw against Spain in the opening group match, but need a draw against the Iranians to assure a last 16 tie against either Russia or Uruguay.
Iran meanwhile need to beat the Portuguese meaning that at sometime during the game, the side coached by Carlos Queiroz (who is of course Portuguese himself) will have to take the initiative of the game to a rival who have shown they are more effective when playing on the break than when looking to dominate possession.
