Nicolás Otamendi and Gianluca Prestianni bring good news for Benfica | OneFootball

Nicolás Otamendi and Gianluca Prestianni will return to Portugal earlier. According to what is known, the Argentine duo shining at Benfica will only play a friendly with the national team and then immediately return to Lisbon to join the squad under José Mourinho, who is preparing for upcoming commitments.

The news is shared by the newspaper Record, after being informed by the Argentine coach, Lionel Scaloni. The Argentina coach revealed in recent days that both Otamendi and Prestianni - making their debut in the call-ups - will only participate in the friendly against Angola.

It is worth mentioning that Otamendi was the first of the two Benfica athletes to head to Argentina, as he was not included in José Mourinho's choices for the game against Casa Pia, due to serving a suspension. The number 25 jersey traveled after the game at Estádio da Luz.

The friendly between the Albiceleste and the Palancas is scheduled for this Thursday, November 13, in Luanda. Afterwards, the two players will have permission from Scaloni to return to Portugal and, therefore, will be the first 'reinforcements' for the Benfica squad, led by the Special One.

In the 2025/26 season, wearing only the Benfica jersey, Nicolás Otamendi – valued at 1 million euros – has played 20 matches: 10 in the Liga Portugal Betclic, eight in the Champions League, one in the League Cup, and another in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira. In the 1,800 minutes he was on the pitch, the central defender scored two goals.

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