Portugal is going to the Confederations Cup without Eder, its goal-scoring hero in the final of the European Championship, and rising star Renato Sanches.
Coach Fernando Santos left the pair off his 24-man squad yesterday for a friendly against Cyprus, a World Cup qualifier against Latvia, and the Confederations Cup in Russia next month.
Eder and Sanches were the conspicuous absences in the squad that will be led by Cristiano Ronaldo.
A year ago, Eder, a substitute, scored in extra time to give his team a 1-0 win over France and the European title.
Young midfielder Sanches was talked about at that tournament as a possible heir to Ronaldo and subsequently earned a high-profile transfer from Benfica to Bayern Munich, where he hasn’t featured regularly. Sanches was instead included in the Portugal Under-21s.
Portugal hosts Cyprus on June 3 and plays at Latvia in a World Cup qualifier on June 9. Four days later, Portugal travels to Russia where it plays its first Confederations Cup game against Mexico on June 18. The Portuguese will also meet Russia and New Zealand in the group stage.
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