PORTUGAL BEGIN REIGN WITHOUT RONALDO
European Champions face Gibraltar in a pre-World Cup qualifier friendly without their injured talismanic skipper
PORTUGAL play their first game as reigning European champions when they host Gibraltar in a pre-World Cup qualifying friendly on Thursday while big-hitters Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy and France are all in action as well.
Just a couple of months after winning Euro 2016, Portugal welcome minnows Gibraltar in Porto but do so without forward Cristiano Ronaldo. The Real Madrid star has not yet recovered from an injury sustained in the Euro final victory over France.
Vieirinha and Ricardo Carvalho are also missing from the previous squad with Joao Cancelo, Luis Neto, Bernardo Silva and Andre Silva called up by coach Fernando Santos, who expects teams to have “extra motivation” in facing Portugal.
“Previ-ously all opponents have had full commitment in facing and trying to overcome Portugal, ” Santos was quoted by Portuguese media. “Obviously now this will be increased … facing the champions of Europe.” While Portugal have a relatively simple warm-up fixture, neighbours Spain have a tricky contest away to the secondranked Belgium in a match originally scheduled to be played on November 17, 2015. It was postponed in the nervous aftermath of the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris. Spain’s new coach Julen Lopetegui, pictured, has left out goalkeeper Iker Casillas, the most capped player in Spain’s history with 167 appearances. He captained the triumphant La Roja at the 2010 World Cup and at Euro 2008 and 2012, but Lopetegui has placed his faith in David de Gea as Casillas’ successor.
“Iker is a reference point and an icon, but on this occasion we have decided that De Gea should be the first-choice keeper,” Lopetegui said.
“But the national team door is certainly not closed for him (Casillas).”
Other successful players overlooked by Lopetegui are Cesc Fabregas and Pedro while Diego Costa, Juan Mata and Paco Alcacer, three strikers overlooked by previous boss Vicente del Bosque for Euro 2016, have been recalled.
Giampiero Ventura also opens a new coaching reign for Italy with a high-level friendly at home to France in Bari.
The new coach, a 68-year-old who began coaching in 1976, visited the top Italian clubs in recent weeks as he seeks to build a group of young players for his squad after replacing Antonio Conte.
“We can’t count on many Italians coming from a league that used to give us a lot more,” Ventura said. “So we have to be patient and wait for those who are coming through.
“There are a lot of youngsters breaking through, we need to give them time to find a way of playing at international level and above all to let them express themselves”
Ventura has called up the 17-year-old AC Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who could become the youngest ever to don the Azzurri jersey. Other newcomers are defender Alessio Romagnoli, 21, a Donnarumma teammate, Torino striker Andrea Belotti, 22, who scored a hat-trick at the weekend and Genoa’s 27-year-old forward Leonardo Pavoletti who bagged a brace.
Meanwhile world champs Germany bid farewell to captain Bastian Schweinsteiger in a home friendly against Finland: “With Basti we are losing the captain and a key pillar of our team,” coach Joachim Loew said. “He will leave a gap.”