Luís Freire snubs Benfica starlet for Portugal under-21 squad | OneFootball

After the announcement of Roberto Martínez's call-up, the list of the Under-21 coach, Luís Freire, for the 2027 World Cup qualifying matches was also released. Portugal faces Azerbaijan in Baku on March 27, and Scotland in Estoril on March 31.

Anísio Cabral was the big omission from the list. On the other hand, André Gomes, Daniel Banjaqui, Gonçalo Moreira, and Rodrigo Rêgo were the four Benfica players called up by Luís Freire. Mateus Mané and Noah Saviolo. The two forwards, who play for Wolves and Vitória de Guimarães respectively, are thus called up for the first time.

Portugal leads Group B with 13 points, three more than Czechia and Scotland. Next in the standings are Bulgaria (seven points), Azerbaijan (five), and Gibraltar (zero). Remember that the first place in each group guarantees direct qualification, while second place gives access to the qualification play-off.

This season, playing for Benfica, Anísio Cabral - valued at 5 million euros - has already played four official matches with the main squad, all in the Liga Portugal Betclic. In the 28 minutes he was on the pitch, the Portuguese scored two goals.

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