Carlos Forbs set to inherit Portugal’s iconic number seven against Denmark

Carlos Forbs will wear Portugal’s famous number seven shirt against Denmark on Saturday, with Rafael Leao absent through injury and the jersey’s long association with Cristiano Ronaldo temporarily ending.

Portugal manager Jorge Jesus has selected the Club Brugge winger to wear the number in the Nations League fifth-round meeting in Braga. Forbs will become the latest player to take the shirt after Ronaldo announced his international retirement at the start of November.

Ronaldo wore number seven for much of his Portugal career, having permanently adopted it at Euro 2008. The shirt became one of the most recognisable symbols in the national team’s history during his 23-year international career.

The former Portugal captain retired as the most-capped player in international football, with 234 appearances. He also leads the world’s all-time international scoring charts with 146 goals.

Leao remains favourite for permanent role

Forbs’ appearance in the shirt is expected to be temporary. Portuguese newspaper A Bola reports that Rafael Leao is the leading candidate to take over the number on a permanent basis.

Leao is unavailable for Portugal’s two current matches because of injury, creating the opportunity for Forbs to wear the number against Denmark. Forbs has used the shirt on previous occasions, while several other players also wore it in Ronaldo’s absence.

Competition regulations require squads to select shirt numbers from one to 23, meaning Portugal had to allocate number seven to a member of the current squad despite the expected long-term successor being unavailable.

Four players left out

Jesus has also finalised his matchday squad after naming 27 players in the Portugal camp. Four had to be omitted, including Joao Cancelo, who was unavailable through a one-match suspension.

The other three exclusions cover one player from each area of the team.

Sporting CP defender Goncalo Inacio joined the camp at the last moment as a replacement for the injured Tomas Araujo, but has not been included against Denmark.

Tottenham midfielder Mateus Fernandes, one of the new faces in the squad for this international gathering, is also left out.

Monza forward Gustavo Varela will have to wait for his Portugal debut. He had been preparing to make his first appearance for the national team but is behind Goncalo Ramos and Fabio Silva in the order of preference among the recognised strikers.

Jesus has therefore completed his selection for the match in Braga. Attention will now focus on Forbs as he takes Portugal’s number seven shirt for the first time since Ronaldo’s international retirement, although only on an interim basis.