Marco Silva names 30 players, surprises on Benfica's first day | OneFootball

Benfica began its 2026/27 pre-season this Wednesday, and Marco Silva’s first squad list offered several clues about the players who will be under observation in the coming weeks. The new Benfica coach got to work in Seixal with a group of 30 players, mixing experienced members, academy youngsters, and a recently arrived signing at Luz.

The main new face is Gabriel Índio. The young Brazilian centre-back reported to Benfica Campus this morning and appears as the only signing included on the list. Coming from Athletic-MG, the Brazilian is already beginning the process of adapting to Portuguese football and is one of the most closely watched figures at the start of training.

Among the names sparking the most curiosity are several talents from Seixal. João Fonseca, Daniel Banjaqui, José Neto, Rui Silva, Miguel Figueiredo, Gonçalo Moreira, João Rego, Jaden Umeh, Anísio Cabral and Peter Edokpolor were given the opportunity to work directly with Marco Silva. Many of these players are seen as future prospects and are looking to convince the coach that they can earn a place over the course of the season.

The main group also includes players such as Anatoliy Trubin, António Silva, Alexander Bah, Samuel Dahl, Enzo Barrenechea, Georgiy Sudakov, Manu Silva, Leandro Barreiro, Bruma, Vangelis Pavlidis, Franjo Ivanovic, Gianluca Prestianni, Rafa Silva and Tiago Gouveia. Several internationals are still absent due to World Cup commitments, opening the door for the younger players to show what they can do during the first weeks of pre-season.

Marco Silva will have little time to prepare the team. Benfica will make their official debut on 23 July against St. Gallen in the second qualifying round of the Europa League. Before that, the Eagles will play warm-up matches against Flamengo and Villarreal, in addition to other behind-closed-doors games. With the battle for a place in the squad wide open, the next few days promise to be decisive for several of the prospects currently in Seixal.

These are the players present on day 1:

Goalkeepers: Trubin, Samuel Soares, Diogo Ferreira and André Gomes;

Defenders: António Silva, Bah, Dahl, João Fonseca, Banjaqui, José Neto, Joshua Wynder, Rui Silva and Gabriel Índio;

Midfielders: Barrenechea, Sudakov, Manu, Barreiro, Miguel Figueiredo, Gonçalo Moreira, Rafael Luís and João Rego;

Forwards: Bruma, Ivanovic, Pavlidis, Prestianni, Rafa, Tiago Gouveia, Jaden Umeh, Anísio Cabral and Edokpolor.

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