Rui Borges faces a real exodus at Sporting, with a clear goal | OneFootball

Usually, the break for international fixtures represents a period of lower intensity and a chance to recover, but in Alcochete the situation is very different. In this Wednesday’s training session, Rui Borges will find only a very small group, a direct consequence of the many call-ups. In total, 46 players linked to Sporting have been called up by their respective national teams.

Among them are 16 internationals from the first-team squad, spread across various parts of the world, joined by 30 youngsters from the youth teams, starting from the under-16s. This number reinforces the recognition of Sporting’s academy, but it complicates the coach’s planning, as he loses precisely the young players who are usually integrated into training during this period without competition.

Despite the limitations, the situation may open the door to new opportunities. With fewer options, each session takes on greater importance and allows the coaching staff to observe the available players more closely, in a kind of evaluation laboratory.

At the Academy training session, Rui Borges - who has taken a new step in his renewal - will have only eight players from the Sporting first-team squad available: João Virgínia, Diego Callai, Daniel Bragança, Hidemasa Morita, Eduardo Quaresma, Ricardo Mangas, Souleymane Faye and Geny Catamo. It will be with this reduced core that the coach will try to maintain the competitive rhythm while awaiting the phased return of the internationals.

The match, corresponding to matchday 28 of the Liga Portugal Betclic, against the side managed by Petit, will be played at the José Alvalade Stadium at 8:30 pm.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.