Ricardo Velho, Farense's goalkeeper, is one of those called up to the national A team, in the double round against Poland and Scotland.
The Algarve goalkeeper is one of the highlights – and new additions – to Roberto Martínez’s squad.
Ricardo Velho, who has been on the lookout for this call-up for some time, is the only player called up from the I Liga who does not play for any of the big three (Sporting, Benfica and FC Porto).
At the press conference following the announcement of the squad, Roberto Martínez justified the goalkeeper's call-up.
«Ricardo Velho is an example of how work, professionalism, dedication and effort can take any player to the national team», he said.
The coach also said that the Farense goalkeeper is playing «consistently in the I Liga, at a very good level», deserving «to be in the squad».
In addition to Ricardo Velho's call-up, the other big news was the call-up of midfielder Samuel Costa, from Mallorca. Also noteworthy are the returns of names such as Otávio, João Cancelo and Francisco Conceição.
Portugal will face Poland on the 12th, in Warsaw, and will also play in Glasgow, with Scotland, on the 15th. Both matches are part of the Nations League.
All those summoned:
Goalkeeper: Diogo Costa (FC Porto), Rui Silva (Betis Seville), Ricardo Velho (Farense)
Defenses: Ruben Dias (Man City), Antonio Silva (Benfica), Goncalo Inacio (Sporting), Renato Veiga (Chelsea), Joao Cancelo (Al Hilal), Diogo Dalot (Man United), Nuno Mendes (PSG) and Nelson Semedo (Wolves)
Medium: João Palhinha (Bayern Munich), João Neves (PSG), Samuel Costa (Mallorca), Ruben Neves (Al Hilal), Otavio (Al Nassr), Bruno Fernandes (Man United) and Vitinha (PSG)
Advanced: Bernardo Silva (Man City), Francisco Conceição (Juventus), Francisco Trincao (Sporting), Joao Felix (Chelsea), Rafael Leão (AC Milan), Diogo Jota (Liverpool), Pedro Neto (Chelsea) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr).
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