3 January 2025. 8pm. Funchal. Madeira Stadium
Portuguese championship. Day 17
Nacional (Funchal) – Porto
Possible absences: Miguel Baez, Nigel Thomas – Nico Gonzalez, Ivan Marcano, Wendell, Francisco Moura, Marko Grujic
The match between Porto and Nacional, scheduled for this Friday (3), risks being postponed. This information was communicated today by the director of the IPMA Meteorological Observatory in Funchal, Vitor Priora: “The forecasts are not the best. The conditions are not very favorable due to a light to moderate wind coming from the critical direction, that is to say from the southwest, and there is a high probability that the thick fog will prevent the match from starting. This season, the meeting between Nacional and Benfica has already been postponed due to bad weather conditions. The match resumed on December 19, ending in a 2–0 victory for the “Aigles”.
If the Nacional – Porto match does not take place or is incomplete on Friday due to fog, it will be replayed on Saturday. The match is due to start in the evening, and the weather forecast, as seen recently during Benfica’s visit to the Madeira Stadium, indicates unfavorable weather conditions.
Both clubs and the League are closely monitoring the situation, and an agreement has virtually been reached stipulating that if visibility conditions are poor, the match will resume on Saturday January 4. This is in accordance with Competition Regulations, Article 46, which states that any match postponed or interrupted due to force majeure must take place or be completed within 30 hours. In this regard, two time slots have been identified to potentially resume the match on Saturday: 12:45 p.m. or 3:30 p.m. (local time). This is a crucial point to preserve the recommended rest period for Porto, who play in the League Cup semi-final against Sporting in Leiria next Tuesday.
-National
Nacional appealed to the football federation with a specific request. The club maintains that in 8 of the 16 matches, referees made questionable decisions in favor of their opponents. The list of errors is quite long, including penalties awarded against Nacional, red cards, and fouls that the referee “didn’t notice” from opponents. The final straw was the cancellation of a goal in the match against Rio Ave in Round 16. In the 90+7 minute, defender Wilson Ulysses equalized (2:2), but the referee canceled the goal for an alleged dangerous play he noticed in slow motion. It is worth noting that all the decisions made by the referees either helped Nacional’s opponents win or achieve draws. After 16 days, Nacional has 13 points. The club has already calculated that it could have obtained 23 points and currently occupy 7th place. The football federation has not yet commented on this call.
Porto
Porto are currently second in the Primeira Liga, just behind Sporting by additional criteria. This is vital for André Villas-Boas, who is under pressure from shareholders. The club absolutely must qualify for the Champions League in order to settle the debts accumulated by the former president – Pinto da Costa. Of course, there is a backup option – the sale of Samu Ogehovi (Omorodina), but this scenario is much more complicated. Selling him in the winter transfer window is possible, but who would take Porto to the top of the table next? The Spanish striker has scored 18 goals and provided 2 assists in 21 matches for Porto. Without him, the “Dragons” could find themselves in a deep crisis in all competitions. In addition, it is important to remember that the Portuguese club only holds 50% of Samu’s rights. Atletico keeps the other half. So, even a sale of Ogehovi for 50 million euros would only net Porto 25 million euros (considering that the “Dragons” paid 15 million euros for 50% of the ownership).
The second option would be to sell Rodrigo Mora, a 17-year-old young player. The young Portuguese made a remarkable entry into the first team during the autumn matches and is starting to amaze on the pitch. In the last three Primeira Liga matches, he has scored 2 goals and provided 3 assists. Big European clubs are already monitoring Mora and are ready to buy him for 10-15 million euros. However, if Rodrigo continues to progress this quickly, he could soon be worth 3-4 times as much.
However, I believe Porto will try to keep all their key players until the summer in order to try and win the Primeira Liga gold medals and secure a direct ticket to the Champions League group stage. Champions, which would bring the club significant financial gains from UEFA.
Nacional – Porto : Scheduled teams
Nacional – Porto : Author’s prediction
Even though the match takes place on Saturday, the weather conditions won’t be ideal for football, so I don’t expect to see a goal-heavy match. Furthermore, Vitor Bruno has already mentioned that he could consider rotating his squad due to the upcoming match against Sporting. I think it would be wise to bet on under 2.5 goals.
