Euro 2020 | Joao Cancelo replaced by Diogo Dalot in Portugal’s squad after testing positive for COVID-19

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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A statement from the Portugal’s football federation confirmed that Joao Cancelo has tested positive for COVID-19 and the full-back has been replaced by Diogo Dalot in the squad. The Manchester City star will now be forced to spend ten days in self-isolation and could potentially miss the tournament.

When Fernando Santos' final 26-man squad included Joao Cancelo, few were shocked that the full-back earned a call-up for Portugal ahead of the Euro 2020. That is especially considering the way Cancelo has performed since his move from Juventus to Manchester with Pep Guardiola getting the best out of the 27-year-old. Cancelo was expected to be a key part of Santos’ Portugal but plans have changed after the full-back tested positive for COVID-19.

That news has been confirmed by the Portugal football federation and with Cancelo set to spend the next ten days in self-isolation and quarantine, he will miss the tournament. It saw the statement also revealed that Diogo Dalot, who spent last season on loan with AC Milan, has earned a maiden call up to replace the Manchester City full-back. Cancelo was the only one to test positive with everyone else returning negative tests.

"Under-21 international Diogo Dalot will join the National Team's delegation in Budapest to prepare for his debut at Euro 2020. The AC Milan player will replace Joao Cancelo, who tested positive for Covid-19 following a rapid antigen test carried out this Saturday by the FPF Health and Performance Unit," an official statement from the FPF reads.

"The Hungarian health authorities were immediately informed and the player – who is doing well – was placed in isolation. The result of the test carried out by USP was confirmed by an RT-PCR test carried out on Joao Cancelo also on Saturday and whose result was known on Sunday morning.

"In accordance with the Covid-19 protocol defined by UEFA before the Euro 2020 matches, all players and members of the entourage underwent RT-PCR tests on Saturday. The results, with the exception of Joao Cancelo, were negative.

"The Hungarian health authorities became aware of compliance with the protection procedures, fully respected according to the UEFA protocol, in a group that also has a high rate of vaccine coverage and authorised the National Team to comply with the stipulated plan for the European Championship without any changes."

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