Portugal name strong squad for the U20 World Cup
Portugal have announced the team that they will take to the U20 World Cup in Poland later this month.
The tournament, which kicks off on the 23rd May, will pit Portugal against Argentina, South Africa and South Korea in the group stage.
Portugal U20 manager Helio Sousa today named the squad - which unsurprisingly includes a huge number of players from the Golden Generation that won both the U17 Euros and U19 Euros.
In what is a star-studded squad, both Gedson Fernandes and Florentino Luis, who have featured regularly for Benfica this season, are included, the two central midfield players then joined by their highly talent Benfica teammate João Filipe, who will surely be vital to any success Portugal have this tournament.
João Filipe was sensational at the U19 Euros last season, when he scored 5 goals in 5 games, including twice in the final against Italy.
Braga teenage star Francisco Trincão is also in the side, the forward another standout player from U19 Euros last summer. He, like Filipe, grabbed 5 goals in the competition, showing just how much attacking quality Portugal have at their disposal.
And that's not including 19-year old Lille striker Rafael Leão; once dubbed the "Portuguese Mbappe" by parts of the media, Leão has had a great season in France this campaign, and is a terrific all-round striker.
His inclusion in this competition, however, means that he will not be called up to the UEFA Nations League squad this summer.
João Felix, for example, was left out of the U20 World Cup squad, with the €100million-rated player going to be included in Portugal's Nations League squad instead.
There's still an abundance of quality in Portugal's U20 World Cup squad though, with Manchester United's Diogo Dalot and Wolves' Ruben Vinagre both included.
Goalkeeper Diogo Costa and centrebacks Diogo Leite and Diogo Queiros, who won the UEFA Youth League with Porto last month, are also in the squad and expected to play a significant role in the tournament.
That's not where the quality ends though - and you can see the FULL SQUAD below:
Portugal's U20 World Cup Squad:
Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (FC Porto), Luis Maximiano (Sporting CP), João Virginia (Everton), Ricardo Silva (FC Porto).
Defenders: Diogo Queiros (FC Porto), Diogo Leite (FC Porto), Romain Correia (Guimarães), Thierry Correia (Sporting CP), Francisco Moura (Braga), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Ruben Vinagre (Wolverhampton Wanderers).
Midfielders: Florentino Luis (Benfica), Gedson Fernandes (Benfica), Nuno Henrique (Chievo), Nuno Santos (Benfica), Miguel Luis (Sporting CP).
Forwards: Fransisco Trincão (Braga), João Filipe (Benfica), Mesaque Djú (West Ham), Pedro Neto (Lazio), Pedro Martelo (Braga), Rafael Leão (Lille).
Diogo Leite. Author of photo: Елена Рыбакова. License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en.
