Richard Rios shines at Benfica with good news, not alone | OneFootball

Richard Rios will be absent from Benfica's training sessions for the next two weeks, following the match against Alverca. The information was confirmed by Clube da Luz, after it was revealed that the midfielder will be part of the Colombian national team squad, which is preparing for the World Cup qualifiers taking place next year.

Considered one of the most influential players in the Colombian team, Richard Rios will thus be unavailable for Bruno Lage's options in the coming days, given the importance of international commitments for that South American country. However, the number 20 will not be traveling alone.

On the other side of the 2nd circular, the Colombian coach also called up Luis Suárez, a forward from Sporting, who joined this season, to fill the spot left by Viktor Gyokeres, who moved to Arsenal. Both the Benfica and Sporting players are part of the plans for the matches against Bolivia and Venezuela.

Faced with two challenging and highly demanding matches, the Colombian team does not want to complicate the qualification further and, during this international break, aims to have everything well on track. The first game, against Bolivia, will be at home, at the Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, on September 5th. Five days later, the Colombians will visit Venezuela, where they will play at the Estadio Monumental de Maturín.

Currently, Colombia is in sixth place in the South American qualification zone, the last position that grants direct access to the World Cup in the United States. However, the spot is not yet secured. With 22 points, the Colombians only need one victory to secure their ticket.

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