Barcelona pair to sit out country’s international opener | OneFootball

Two headline members of the first-team setup at La Liga giants Barcelona are set to sit out their country’s international opener this week.

The players in question? João Félix and João Cancelo.

Both frontman Félix and defender Cancelo were, as expected, called up for the latest round of fixtures set to be played out by the Portuguese national team.

This comes with the pair expected to play central roles for Roberto Martínez’s side, at the upcoming European Championships.

Neither, however, will feature this coming Thursday, when Portugal play host to Sweden in a friendly clash.

As much was confirmed by Alex Pintanel of Relevo on Monday evening.

Though it is not clear exactly why, Félix is fresh off an intense week, culminating in the 24-year-old finding the net at the home of his parent club – Atlético Madrid – on Sunday night.

Cancelo, meanwhile, was absent from Barcelona’s matchday squad which made the trip to Spain’s capital, owing to an unspecified problem in his personal life.

Both, in turn, are primed to link up with Martínez’s Portuguese squad later in the week, with a view to next Tuesday’s meeting with Slovenia.

Conor Laird | GSFN