Fernando Santos lead his first training session with the Portuguese national team prior to the start of their European Championship campaign.
14 of Santos’ 23-man squad trained at Cidade do Futebol on Monday morning as Portugal got their preparations for Euro 2016 underway, with just 21 days to go until the country’s opening match against Iceland.
Rui Patricio, Eduardo, Cedric, Ricardo Carvalho, Jose Fonte, Elisha, Raphael Guerreiro, William Carvalho, Adrien Silva, Andre Gomes, Joao Moutinho, Joao Mario, Quaresma and Eder all took part at the state of the art facility in Portugal on Monday evening.
The session lasted around 90 minutes following routine medical tests and began with a lecture from Fernando Santos. Eder and Quaresma caught the eye over the course of the evening.
Notable absentees due to club duties
The remaining members of the team were unavailable due to commitments with their respective clubs and Lyon’s Anthony Lopes arrived in the country late due to flight delays.
Renato Sanches, Danilo and Rafa Silva were all rested after representing Benfica, Porto and Braga towards the end of the campaign. The latter two faced off in the Taca de Portugal final last weekend, with Silva’s Braga securing their first piece of domestic silverware in 50-years.
Bruno Alves and Nani remain with Fenerbahce due to Tuesday’s Turkish Cup final while Vieirinha is currently on Wolfsburg’s postseason tour of China and will subsequently be one of the last to arrive.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe, meanwhile, are currently engaged in preparing for Real Madrid’s Champions League encounter with rivals Atletico at the San Siro.
Ronaldo, who has scored 51 goals this season, limped out of Madrid’s own training session on Tuesday due to a thigh problem sustained following a clash with Kiko Casilla. The 31-year-old remained positive about the injury though, stating that it “was a minor scare, a knock” and he will be “well” in a number of days.
A similar thigh issue forced the forward to miss three matches during the month of April.
Preparations continue
Selecção encounter Norway, England and Estonia in friendlies before travelling to Linas-Marcoussis, where they will be based throughout the tournament.