Goalkeeper Francisco Meixedo, from FC Porto, and defender Pedro Malheiro, from Boavista, were called up for the first time this Friday for the Portugal U-21 team, for private matches with the Czech Republic and Japan.
At Cidade do Futebol, in Oeiras, coach Rui Jorge announced the call for 23 players for the preparation matches for the 2023 European Championship, in Georgia and Romania, also promoting the return of João Mário, Gonçalo Inácio, Nuno Tavares, Fábio Vieira and Fábio Carvalho, absent from the last U21 list.
“Actually, it’s a different group. The last call was made a bit with the prospect of leaving out some players who were part of the ranks and calling in others that we were curious to see and who behaved well. The options for this The call will be different, we will continue to observe one or another player who has had less contact with us, others who can improve our quality and others who have been here more times. The goal of the internship is precisely that,” he said.
Rui Jorge highlighted the competitive context in which many U21 players are currently at their clubs, compared to 10 years ago, which allows the young team to bring the ‘corners’ closer to the top of European football of this generation.
“Compared to what we found when we got here 10 years ago, the players are competing at much higher levels. They feel comfortable fighting with these European teams. The better the competitive context, the stronger we will be”, stressed Rui Jorge, to the journalists. .
Central defender António Silva, 19, was called up by Portugal’s main coach, Fernando Santos, for the 2022 World Cup, after playing just 45 minutes with the U21s, in the final squad, in a meteoric rise this season.
“António, by our head coach’s choice, is on another level, which is where our coach understands he needs to be. From that point on, there’s not much to say about his quality that doesn’t attest to his presence in AA,” the technician pointed out.
Regarding the preparation matches, Rui Jorge explained the choice of the Portuguese rival: “We chose a match against a team that will also be in a final phase [República Checa] and has already shown quality to get through the group stage. He is a rival with quality, one of those we will find in the finals. Japan is possibly a more unknown opponent, but it will be a team we will have to fight against. Hopefully we can do well.”
The matches against the Czech Republic and Japan are scheduled for November 18 and 22, respectively, both played at the Estádio Municipal de Portimão, starting at 7:15 p.m.
Regarding the history of clashes between the teams, Portugal has a technical ‘tie’ with the Czech Republic, with three wins, one draw and three losses in seven games, with 10-10 in goals, and, in relation to the Japanese, It will be the first game.
Portugal is part of Group A of the 2023 European Championship finals, with hosts Georgia (June 21), the Netherlands (24) and Belgium (27) as opponents. The top two teams from each of the four groups advance to the quarterfinals.
List of 23 summoned
Goalkeepers: Celton Biai (Vitória de Guimarães), Francisco Meixedo (FC Porto) and Samuel Soares (Benfica).
Defenders: André Amaro (Vitória de Guimarães), Bernardo Vital (Estoril Praia), Gonçalo Inácio (Sporting), João Mário (FC Porto), Leonardo Lelo (Casa Pia), Nuno Tavares (Marseille, Fra) and Pedro Malheiro (Boavista) .
Midfielders: Afonso Sousa (Lech Poznan, Pol), André Almeida (Valencia, Esp), Fábio Vieira (Arsenal, Ing), Fábio Carvalho (Liverpool, Ing), José Carlos (Vitória de Guimarães), Paulo Bernardo (Benfica), Tiago Dantas (PAOK, Gre) and Vasco Sousa (FC Porto).
Forwards: David da Costa (Lens, Fra), Fábio Silva (Anderlecht, Bel), Francisco Conceição (Ajax, Hol), Henrique Araújo (Benfica) and Vítor Oliveira (Sporting de Braga).
Source: TSF
