Team Portugal aiming for historic second straight EuroVolley appearance

Team Portugal is already working hard for the upcoming CEV EuroVolley 2021 Men qualifiers, with tournaments due to run from May 7-9 in Szombathely, Hungary and at home in Matosinhos from May 14-16, 2021. Portugal’s opponents will be the national teams of Belarus, Hungary, and Norway.  

In the preparation plan, and if the conditions related to the pandemic do not change significantly, there will be some friendly matches in Austria from May 3-5, preceding Portugal’s first official match at the Arena Savaria in Szombathely.

Regarding the next challenges that the team will face, head coach Hugo Silva stressed: “Our main goal is to secure an unprecedented European qualification for the second consecutive time. In our call, we tried to bring some maturity, which will allow us to hide a little this big gap of the moment individually, but we will never give up the constant renewal and search for new talents in some positions and hence the choice of young players whom we will test as well. We must do a good initial preparation to achieve this year’s great goal, which is the qualification for EuroVolley and, later, show the audacity and ambition to fight for the title in the European Golden League.”

Filipe Vitó, a former Portuguese international who has worked with Hugo Silva at club level, namely at SC Espinho, will make his debut as an assistant coach of Team Portugal.

Players

Setters

Miguel Rodrigues (Cuprum Lubin/POL)

Tiago Violas (SL Benfica)

Middle Blockers

Phelipe Martins (Leixões SC)

Filip Cveticanin (SC Espinho)

Gerson Gomes Pereira (Martigues VB/FRA)

Nuno Teixeira (VC Viana)

Outside Hitters

Alexandre Ferreira (Seoul Woori Card Wibee VB/KOR)

Lourenço Martins (SAEMS Tourcoing/FRA)

Sebastião Leão (AA São Mamede)

André Marques (Castêlo da Maia GC)

Tiago Pereira (UVC Holding Graz/AUT)

André Lopes (SL Benfica)

André Gonçalves (GC Santo Tirso)

Opposite Hitters

Marco Ferreira (Al Jazeera SC/UAE)

Hugo Gaspar (SL Benfica)

Dinis Leão (SC Espinho)

Bruno Cunha (AJ Fonte Bastardo)

Liberos
João Fidalgo (Sporting CP)

Ivo Casas (SL Benfica)

The winners of the seven qualifiers and the five best runners-up will secure their participation in the CEV EuroVolley 2021 co-hosted later this year by Poland, Czech Republic, Estonia and Finland. The 12 teams coming from the qualifiers will join the four organisers and the other eight teams already qualified according to the final standing of the 2019 edition.