Lisbon, June 3 (IANS/EFE) The Portuguese national team held its first training session on Tuesday to prepare for the Euro 2016 qualifying game against Armenia on June 13 and the friendly against Italy three days later.
The session was attended by 20 of the 25 players, including team captain Cristiano Ronaldo, who took a brief vacation after finishing the season with Real Madrid.
The players unable to attend were those who played on Sunday’s final of the Taca de Portugal, namely Rui Patrício, William Carvalho, Adrien and Nani from Sporting Lisbon, and striker Eder from Sporting Braga.
The Portuguese team leads its qualifying group with 9 points, while Armenia falls in last place, with one point.
Portuguese coach Fernando Santos said on Monday in a press conference that his team is far from automatically qualified, as Denmark and Albania are not far behind, each carrying seven points.