The Portuguese soccer team begins this Monday to prepare for Friday’s duel against Slovakia, qualifying for Euro 2024, with training at the Cidade do Futebol, in Oeiras.
The 24 players summoned by coach Roberto Martínez will meet during the day at the ‘home’ of the Portuguese Football Federation and will have a session scheduled at 6:00 p.m., with the first 15 minutes being open to the media.
Earlier, at 5:15 p.m., also at the Cidade do Futebol, a player yet to be named will speak to journalists at a press conference.
Pedro Neto is the big surprise on Martínez’s list, while João Cancelo and João Félix, already officially at FC Barcelona, remained among the Spanish coach’s options, despite not playing officially for almost three months.
Pepe, injured, was not in the squad, like Raphaël Guerreiro.
Portugal faces Slovakia, in Bratislava, on September 8, and, three days later, on September 11, they receive Luxembourg in the Algarve.
After four rounds, the team leads Group J, with 12 points, adding only victories, ahead of Slovakia, second ranked, with 10, and Luxembourg, third, with seven. Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iceland have three points, while Liechtenstein is down to zero.
The first two places in the group give direct access to the final phase of the Eurocup, which will take place next year in Germany.
List of the 24 summoned:
– Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (FC Porto), José Sá (Wolverhampton, England) and Rui Patrício (Rome, Italy).
– Defenders: Diogo Dalot (Manchester United, England), Nélson Semedo (Wolverhampton, England), João Cancelo (FC Barcelona,Esp), Rúben Dias (Manchester City, England), Danilo Pereira (Paris Saint-Germain, Fra), António Silva (Benfica), Toti Gomes (Wolverhampton, England) and Gonçalo Inácio (Sporting).
– Midfielders: Palhinha (Fulham, England), Rúben Neves (Al Hilal, Ara), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City, England), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United, England), Otávio (Al Nassr, Ara) and Vitinha (Paris Saint- German, Fra).
– Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr, Ara), Gonçalo Ramos (Paris Saint-Germain, Fra), João Félix (FC Barcelona, Esp), Rafael Leão (AC Milan, Ita), Diogo Jota (Liverpool, England), Ricardo Horta (Sporting Braga) and Pedro Neto (Wolverhampton, England).
Source: TSF
