Marco Silva era begins at Benfica, much to decide before Europa League | OneFootball

Benfica’s squad returns to training this Thursday, June 25, with its focus already set on the first official match of the season, scheduled for July 23, against FC St. Gallen in Switzerland, in the second qualifying round for a place in the UEFA Europa League league phase.

The team is therefore entering a decisive period of observation and assessment, with Marco Silva working with a large group that could exceed 30 players, many of them youngsters coming through the academy, such as Miguel Figueiredo and Anísio Cabral.

Several members of the squad remain on international duty with their respective national teams at the 2026 World Cup, namely Tomás Araújo, Alexander Bah, Fredrik Aursnes, Richard Ríos, Andreas Schjelderup and Dodi Lukebakio, so it is expected that not all of them will report to Seixal on the first day. The start of preparations will include a wide range of options spread across the different areas of the squad.

Benfica is therefore entering a period of intense internal assessment, with the aim of fine-tuning the squad for a season in which returning to the Europa League league phase is an immediate priority, also because of the positive financial impact it could bring.

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