Portugal call on uncapped trio
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Article summary
Bruno Alves, Bosingwa and Duda have all received first call-ups by Portugal for the UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifier against Belgium in Brussels on 2 June.
Article body
Bruno Alves, Bosingwa and Duda have all received first call-ups by Portugal for the UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifier in Belgium.
New additions
With Simão, Nuno Gomes and Ricardo Carvalho injured and Cristiano Ronaldo suspended for the 2 June fixture, coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has taken a chance on the newcomers, saying: "All of the new players are making interesting progress at their clubs and we would like to see them perform in the national squad. We have some injuries and Ronaldo suspended so I thought this was the right time to bring in new players." After the Brussels date, Portugal travel to Kuwait for a friendly game on 5 June. Portugal are second in Group A, five points adrift of leaders Poland but with a game in hand.
Portugal squad
Goalkeepers: Ricardo (Sporting Clube de Portugal), Daniel Fernandes (PAOK FC), Quim (SL Benfica).
Defenders: Bruno Alves (FC Porto), Fernando Meira (VfB Stuttgart), Jorge Andrade (RC Deportivo La Coruña), Bosingwa (FC Porto), Miguel (Valencia CF), Caneira (Sporting Clube de Portugal), Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea FC).
Midfielders: Deco (FC Barcelona), Petit (SL Benfica), Hugo Viana (Valencia CF), João Moutinho (Sporting Clube de Portugal), Raul Meireles (FC Porto), Duda (Sevilla FC), Tiago (Olympique Lyonnais).
Forwards: Hélder Postiga (FC Porto), Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen), João Tomás (Al-Rayyan), Nani (Sporting Clube de Portugal), Ricardo Quaresma (FC Porto).