Cristiano Ronaldo may not start at Hampden on Tuesday but that certainly does not mean Scotland can relax.

Nations League opponents Portugal have an array of top-quality attacking alternatives and the all-time leading goalscorer in men’s international football is unlikely to want to put his feet up altogether in Glasgow.

Head coach Roberto Martinez withdrew Ronaldo after 63 minutes in Saturday’s 3-1 win away to Poland, but explained after the match the 39-year-old was “perfect” and the switch was about managing minutes.

The veteran striker scored his 133rd Portugal goal in Warsaw and has found the net in all three wins in this campaign, including a late prod in Lisbon to break Scottish hearts.

“Age does not come into play, Ronaldo does not play as a 39-year-old,” said Martinez as the visitors chose to warm up at St Mirren’s SMiSA stadium in Paisley.

“We are assessing every player and how they feel. Cristiano has been working really well in this camp.

“I think the difficulty of playing two games away from home is more how can you prepare between matches? How can you recover with the players?

“I’ve got no doubt that Cristiano, after 60 minutes, can be involved in the second game. I don’t know if he can start or he can finish the game, but he can certainly be involved as he showed in the last game.”

The WNBA postseason is down to two teams, and the Finals have already produced an eventful first two games.

Let’s look at the odds at DraftKings Sportsbook as of Oct. 14, as we get closer to crowning a new WNBA champion.

2024 WNBA Title Futures: 

New York Liberty: -175 (bet $10 to win $15.71 total)
Minnesota Lynx: +145 (bet $10 to win $24.50 total)

Game 3: Liberty @ Lynx (Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET, ABC)
Series tied 1-1

Spread: Liberty -2.5
O/U: 160
Moneyline: Liberty -148, Lynx +124

The Liberty were the best team in the regular season, and took care of business in the playoff semifinals, defeating the Aces in four games. 

The Lynx won their semifinal matchup over the Sun in five games, advancing to meet New York in the championship series. 

The two squads faced off three times in the regular season, with Minnesota winning twice. 

Still, New York entered the best-of-five series as the -275 favorites. But things were flipped on their head in Game 1, when the Lynx won an overtime thriller on the Liberty’s home floor.

In Game 2, the Lynx had a chance to take a two-game lead, as they trailed 68-66 with 3:40 to go in the fourth quarter.

However, Minnesota did not score again, and the Liberty went on to win 80-66.

Game 3 is set for Wednesday on the Lynx’s home floor.

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Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa will make a return to the football field at some point in the 2024 season, head coach Mike McDaniel told reporters Monday.

It’s the first time that McDaniel has explicitly stated there’s an expectation for Tagovailoa to play again this season after he suffered a concussion in Week 2. However, McDaniel wouldn’t divulge when the team is expecting Tagovailoa’s return, adding that he’s “not playing this week” against Indianapolis (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app).

“There’s still information that he’s seeking this week and as far as timelines go,” McDaniel said. “I do expect to see him playing football in 2024, but where that is exactly, we’ll let the process continue since we still have time before we can even entertain anything. 

“We’ll make sure that he’s diligent this week and assess after that.” 

Tagovailoa was placed on injured reserve shortly after suffering a concussion in Week 2 in a  loss to the Buffalo Bills. The move immediately ruled him out for Miami’s next four games, so he isn’t eligible to return to practice after Week 7. The next game he can play in, if he’s activated, is the Dolphins’ Week 8 tilt against the Arizona Cardinals. 

The concussion marked Tagovailoa’s third since the 2022 season. He initially had a fencing response after his helmet collided with Bills safety Damar Hamlin on a run in that game, sparking similar concerns to the concussions he suffered in 2022. He was able to walk off the field on his own power after the collision. Tagovailoa was expected to meet with multiple independent neurologists following the injury, McDaniel shared at the time.

The Dolphins’ offense has suffered without Tagovailoa. They lost three games in a row before beating the New England Patriots in Week 5, 15-10, to improve to 2-3 ahead of their bye week. Miami ranks last in scoring (12 points per game).

Tagovailoa has statistically been among the league’s best QBs since he started playing under McDaniel in 2022. He threw for 4,624 yards, 29 TDs and 14 interceptions in 2023, helping Miami reach the playoffs in each of the past two years. 

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It didn’t take long for Viana to be back in football, this time as an international relations director after being appointed by Sporting, based like Belenenses in Lisbon, in 2018.

A few months later he was named sporting director and, despite requiring a bit of time to adjust, with four different coaches and failed signings like Yannick Bolasie and Jesse Rodriguez, he eventually found his feet.

“He has grown significantly because he found the right context to do that as a professional and simultaneously help improve the structure,” Leonel Pontes, who worked as Sporting coach in 2019 and is now a technical director at Shanghai Shenhua, said.

“Between the seasons 2018-19 and 2019-20, the squad building was called into question, with unbalanced teams, which led to successive managerial changes.

“It doesn’t seem normal to me to have four different coaches in a single season, but in the end the decision to bring Amorim has proved very successful.”

It has been a turning point for Sporting in their recent history and also for Viana, of course.

Under Amorim, Sporting have won trophies again and finally found peace.

It’s no surprise they have been producing so many players.

While the likes of Joao Palhinha, Matheus Nunes, Nuno Mendes, Porro and Ugarte have been sold for high sums, others like Goncalo Inacio, Ousmane Diomande, Morten Hjulmand, Geovany Quenda and Viktor Gyokeres have stepped up and filled their shoes.

That’s been the result of the Amorim-Viana partnership.

They are long-time friends, having played together for Portugal and also for Braga.

But their bond grew especially strong when they were both approaching the end of their careers in the Middle East.

They would often meet in Dubai as Amorim was struggling to cope with injuries and had in Viana a shoulder to lean on.

“It’s great [to have one of my best friends working for me] but, at the same time, difficult,” Viana said.

“But we respect each other a lot, whatever we have to say, we say, whatever we have to discuss, we discuss. It’s been a nice challenge and positive for both of us.

“What we are all living at Sporting I was never able to live as a footballer. We sometimes look around us and don’t see what we do as work but like a pleasant thing.”

With Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola out of contract this summer, and his future uncertain, many in Portugal will be keeping a close eye on the prospect of Amorim and Viana reuniting a lot sooner than expected.

NFF media manager Promise Efoghe said no reason was given for the decision to divert their plane to Al Abraq on Sunday.

“No Libyan FA official has come to give reasons or provide any clarification,” he said.

“The Libyans made no effort to help. When the NFF tried to make alternative arrangement, we were locked inside the airport.

“It’s like we are in a prison at the airport.”

Striker Victor Boniface said on social media that the squad were left without food, wi-fi or anywhere to sleep, and the Super Eagles account on X posted pictures of players sprawled out on airport chairs.

Troost-Ekong described their treatment as “mind games”, which the LFF denied.

“There are no grounds to accuse the Libyan security teams or the LFF of deliberately orchestrating this incident,” a statement added.

“Such actions are inconsistent with our values and principles.

“We firmly reject any claims that suggest foul play or sabotage in this situation.”

The journey from Al Abraq to Benghazi would take over three and a half hours by road, but Troost-Ekong said the players would not want to travel by that means because of the security situation in Libya.

The country is split between two administrations – one based in the eastern region, which includes Benghazi, and the other in the west in the capital Tripoli. Both governments claim to be the country’s legitimate rulers.

Efoghe said the Nigerian embassy in Tripoli was “handicapped” and could not intervene because of the political situation.

“We will not accept to travel anywhere by road here even with security. It’s not safe,” Troost-Ekong added.

“We can only imagine what the hotel or food would be like given to us if we continued.

“We respect ourselves and respect our opponents when they are our guests in Nigeria. Mistakes happen but these things on purpose have nothing to do with [international] football.”

Nigeria won 1-0 when the two sides met in Uyo on Friday and top Group D on seven points, with Libya bottom of the table on one point and on the brink of elimination.