Number of internationals has soared in just one year | OneFootball

Francesco Farioli has given the squad a rest until tomorrow, but upon returning to Olival, he will find few players available: eight players have been called up to their respective A teams and two others, Rodrigo Mora and Prpic, to the U-21 teams of Portugal and Croatia, respectively. It's a number of internationals that matches the scale of FC Porto, something that hasn't been seen for a year.

Compared to the same break in 2024, the dragons have almost tripled the number of A team internationals, a clear sign of the squad's qualitative leap. Only three of the eight called up to the A teams were already part of the squad: Diogo Costa, Eustáquio, and Alan Varela. The Argentine is now making his debut on Lionel Scaloni's team. A year ago, Wendell completed the trio of Portistas on international duty.

In the meantime, much has changed. FC Porto has strengthened in the market with players who have established credentials in their national teams, such as Bednarek, Kiwior, and Pablo Rosario, and with young players who have already been called up like Froholdt and Deniz Gul, the latter being "promoted" over the past season. The blue and white contingent could have been larger if Mora had been called up by Roberto Martínez (he will go to the U-21s) and if Samu – who was injured when the call-ups were announced – and Zaidu had headed to Spain and Nigeria during this break.

As already reported by O JOGO, of the ten players handed over to the national teams, only Alan Varela will face long trips to South America and matches in time zones very different from Portugal's. The midfielder's last game will be in the early hours of the 10th, so he should only return to Olival two days later.

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