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Fernando Santos Calls on Miguel Veloso

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Miguel Veloso - Portugal vs Netherlands - 2013

Veloso (left), pictured in 2013

Fernando Santos announced today a squad of 24 to face France in a friendly on September 4th and Albania in a Euro 2016 qualifier on September 7th. Bernardo Silva and Joao Mario, who both starred for Portugal at this summer’s U-21 Euro, have rightfully earned places in the team, as well as Porto new-boys Andre Andre and Danilo Pereira, who have been named for the second successive squad. Dinamo Kiev’s Miguel Veloso, who has been out of the national team setup for some time, also earned a call as a result of some solid recent performances in Ukraine. Continue reading →

Éder Opens Portugal Account

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Eder and Quaresma - Portugal vs Italy

Italy 0-1 Portugal

International Friendly

After almost three years appearing for the Seleção, Éder scored his first goal today, as Portugal scraped through a 1-0 victory over Italy in a friendly match played in Geneva, Switzerland. For fans of the Portuguese team, Éder has gained a reputation for profligacy in front of goal, despite impressive (yet waning) performances in Portugal for Braga. His excellent finish from Ricardo Quaresma’s trivela cross in the 52nd minute was all Portugal needed to earn the victory, despite going long spells during the match on the back-foot.  Continue reading →

Youth Round-up: U-21s Draw, U-20s Defeat Uzbekistan

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With much of the media coverage pointed towards the Portuguese senior team’s match against Serbia tomorrow, Portuguese youth matches have flown largely under the radar. On Thursday, the Portugal U-21 team faced Denmark in a friendly match, and just a day later, the Portugal U-20 team faced Uzbekistan. Both teams are preparing for participation in major tournaments this summer. The U-21 team will be in the U-21 Euro for the first time since 2007, while the U-20 team will compete in their third consecutive U-20 World Cup. Both teams are oozing with talent, and while these friendly matches don’t mean anything on paper, the opportunity for team growth and improved cohesion was invaluable. Continue reading →

Santos Adds Eleven for Cape Verde Friendly

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Andre Andre has finally earned a call to the Seleção after a stellar season thus far for Vitória Guimarães. He is joined by eight other un-capped players.

Andre Andre has finally earned a call to the Seleção after a stellar season thus far for Vitória Guimarães. He is joined by eight other un-capped players.

As promised, Portugal National Team coach Fernando Santos named an additional eleven names for the team’s friendly against Cape Verde, to be played on March 31. Because Portugal faces Serbia on March 29 and then faces Cape Verde just two days later, there is not the FIFA-sanctioned three-day rest period between games. For this reason, those who take the field in the Serbia match will not in the Cape Verde match. Because of this, Santos has called up additional players for the Cape Verde match, and his listing is quite unexpected.  Continue reading →

Fernando Santos Releases List of 24 for Upcoming Seleção Matches

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Fernando SantosPortugal National Team coach Fernando Santos has released a list of 24 players for the team’s upcoming match against Serbia. The team plays Serbia at home on the 29th in a qualification match for Euro 2016 before facing Cape Verde in a friendly match two days later, also to be played on home soil. Santos is slated to call up an additional dozen players or so for the Cape Verde match. Expect Santos to name the additional names on Monday.

Adrien Silva, Raphael Guerreiro, Tiago Gomes, Beto, and Helder Postiga, who were all included in the last squad, were excluded this time out. Other than those exclusions, the team is largely unchanged. Here’s the full list:  Continue reading →

What to Look Forward to in 2015: Portuguese Football Edition

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With Fernando Santos in charge of the National Team, the future looks promising

With Fernando Santos in charge of the National Team, the future looks promising

It was an interesting year in Portuguese football, as always. For the Portuguese National Team, 2014 saw hope slashed by a disappointing World Cup run, which was followed by a fresh renewal following the appointment of Fernando Santos. Domestically, 2014 saw Benfica lift an historic treble, while a resurgent Sporting side edged out a lethargic Porto side in the league. Teams such as Estoril and Nacional also enjoyed successful seasons. The beginning of the 2014-2015 season saw the expansion of the Primeira Liga from 16 teams to 18 teams, with Boavista rejoining the top flight after a seven season absence. Outside of Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Madrid won the Champions League, while Tiago’s resurgent form helped Atletico Madrid to their first La Liga title in almost two decades. With 2014 behind us, it’s time to look forward to 2015; a year that will be sure to excite.  Continue reading →

Last-Gasp Goal Pushes Portugal Past World Cup Finalists

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Cristiano Ronaldo in action against Cristian Ansaldi, of Argentina. Photo: AP/Jon Super

Cristiano Ronaldo in action against Cristian Ansaldi, of Argentina. Photo: AP/Jon Super

Portugal 1-0 Argentina

International Friendly

A last-minute goal from 20 year-old left back Raphael Guerreiro was enough to give Portugal a narrow 1-0 win over Argentina in a match played at Manchester United’s home ground, Old Trafford. The build-up to the match was predictably centered around the Messi vs Ronaldo rivalry, but neither player influenced the game too heavily, and both exited play at half time. Overall, many would probably agree that the final scoreline did not reflect the way the game unfolded, but Fernando Santos and co. surely won’t complain.  Continue reading →

Preview: Portugal vs Argentina

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Ronaldo could be the star of the show against Argentina

Ronaldo could be the star of the show against Argentina

Having narrowly edged Armenia on Friday, the Portuguese national team faces much stiffer competition at Manchester United’s home ground Old Trafford as the Seleccao are pitted up against World Cup finalists Argentina in an international friendly. Cristiano Ronaldo once again saved Portuguese blushes against Armenia and the spotlight will be on the Portuguese superstar as he competes with rival Lionel Messi to steal the show at a place he once called his professional home. Continue reading →