Portimonense will host Benfica in the 3rd round of the Portuguese Cup, as dictated by the draw held today at the headquarters of the Portuguese Football Federation.
The game is scheduled for October 14 and promises a full house at the Estádio Municipal de Portimão.
Jorge Dias, from Portimonense, considered that Benfica “was the best team that could be”, foreseeing a “full house” for the match, which, at Benfica's request, was brought forward from 16 to 14 October.
“It was an early Christmas gift”, said Jorge Dias, adding: “We're going to play at home, which we didn't get last season in the League”, due to the works at the Estádio Municipal de Portimão.
Benfica, for its part, considered today that the third round of the Portuguese Cup in football "is conditioned" by national team matches and European commitments and foresees a motivated Portimonense, but assures that the trophy "is one of the goals of the season".
“It's a conditioned knockout, because in the previous week many players will be returning from the national teams and then on the following Tuesday there is the Champions League”, said Lourenço Coelho, Benfica representative.
Benfica will have, thus, apparently the most complicated task of the "big three" in the third round of the Portuguese Cup of football, when traveling to Portimão to face the local team, the Liga de Honra.
On the other hand, FC Porto, holder of the trophy, will play at the home of Pêro Pinheiro, a team from the third division E series, while Sporting is scheduled to travel to Famalicão, a team from the northern area of the second division, and Vitória de Guimarães , finalist in the last edition, receives Moura, from the south side of the second division.
The four Portuguese teams still in competition in European competitions, FC Porto, Benfica, Sporting and Sporting de Braga - the "arsenalists" receive the 1st of December, from the south zone of the second division -, anticipated their games in the scheduled round for Sunday (October 16), for the previous Friday and Saturday (14th and 15th).
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