Central defender Bernardo Vital left the last selection of 23 players of the Portuguese under-21 national team for the final phase of the European Championship, between Georgia and Romania, the Portuguese Football Association announced on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old Estoril Praia player was part of coach Rui Jorge’s initial list of 25 pre-designated candidates, which had to be reduced to 23. stage due to injury.
The final selection includes striker Francisco Conceição, from the Dutch Ajax, who trains conditioned, and midfielder Fábio Vieira, from the English vice-champions Arsenal, authorized from this week to join the work of the ‘quinas’ team.
The national team was off on Tuesday and will reconvene this Wednesday at 5pm at Cidade do Futebol, in Oeiras, ahead of the trip to Tbilisi on Thursday afternoon.
The 24th edition of the European Under-21 Championship will be played in three cities in Georgia and two in Romania, from June 21 to July 8, with Portugal still looking for its first success in this category, after the defeats in the 1994, 2015 and 2021 finals.
The ‘quinas’ team takes on the three challenges of Group A in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, always at 8:00 PM local time (5:00 PM in Lisbon), facing the hosts, who make their debut in the competition (June 21 ), Netherlands, champion in 2006 and 2007, (24) and Belgium (27).
Portugal must finish in one of the top two positions in the group to gain access to the next stage of the European Under-21 Championship, which brings together 16 finalists for the second time in a row and whose decision is scheduled for July 8. in the Adjarabet Arena, in Batumi, in Georgia.
There are still three spots to be won for the 2024 Paris Olympics, which exclude France, automatically selected as the host country, and England, who are not eligible.
List of the 23 called up:
– Goalkeepers: Celton Biai (Vitória de Guimarães), Francisco Meixedo (FC Porto B) and Samuel Soares (Benfica).
– Defenders: Alexandre Penetra (Famalicão), André Amaro (Vitória de Guimarães), Leonardo Lelo (Casa Pia), Nuno Tavares (Marseille, Fra), Tomás Tavares (Spartak Moscow, Rus) and Tomás Araújo (Gil Vicente).
– Midfielders: Afonso Sousa (Lech Poznan, Pol), André Almeida (Valencia, Esp), Fábio Vieira (Arsenal, England), João Neves (Benfica), José Carlos (Vitória de Guimarães), Paulo Bernardo (Paços de Ferreira), Samuel Costa (Almería, Esp), Tiago Dantas (PAOK, Gre) and Vasco Sousa (FC Porto B).
– Attackers: Fábio Silva (PSV Eindhoven, Ned), Francisco Conceição (Ajax, Ned), Henrique Araújo (Watford, England), Pedro Neto (Wolverhampton, England) and Vitinha (Marseille, England).
Source: DN
