After Flamengo, Benfica have another pre-season opponent confirmed | OneFootball

Benfica announced this Wednesday its first pre-season fixtures, with pre-season officially starting on June 25, as Marco Silva begins preparations for the new campaign in charge of the Eagles. The team from Luz will play two friendlies at the Algarve Stadium. The first is scheduled for July 11 against Flamengo, kicking off at 7:30 pm.

This will be followed on July 17 by a clash against Villarreal, scheduled for 7:45 pm. In addition to these matches, the Eagles are expected to play two more behind-closed-doors warm-up games, likely at the Benfica Campus, on July 4 and 8. The opponents have not yet been announced.

The first official match of the season is scheduled for July 23, when Benfica host St. Gallen in the first leg of the Europa League second qualifying round. With just over a week to go before training begins, the club’s structure has already practically finalized its pre-season planning, including deciding which academy youngsters will have the chance to work with the first team.

According to information reported by Record, João Fonseca, Rui Silva, Miguel Figueiredo, Gonçalo Moreira, Jaden Umeh and Peter Edokpolor were the players chosen to join pre-season training. The aim is to allow Marco Silva to closely assess some of Benfica’s top academy talents, at a time when the coach is looking to gain an in-depth understanding of the resources available in the squad.

Several of the selected youngsters already had contact with the first-team environment during last season, while others join training after standout spells in the youth ranks and the B team. Pre-season will therefore serve not only to prepare for the immediate challenges of the new season, but also to identify potential in-house solutions capable of earning a place in the senior squad over the course of the 2026/27 campaign.

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