Portuguese beat Wales 1-0

The national under-17 squad secured their place in Euro 2016 this week, with a win against Wales on Elite Round Group 5 matchday 2. the Portuguese benefited from Croatia's 2-1 loss to Sweden.

Sporting's Luís Maximiano, Miguel Luís and Thierry Correia all featured on the bench for the encounter.

Fernando Santos names squad for Belgium and Bulgaria friendlies

Sporting CP dominate Fernando Santos' squad for two friendlies against Belgium and Bulgaria, in a squad list issued this week.

Rui Patrício, William Carvalho, Adrien Silva and João Mário will all feature against Bulgaria on the 25th of March in Leiria, before the Portuguese take on Belgium on the 29th of March in Brussels.

Goalkeepers: Anthony Lopes (Lyon), Eduardo (Dynamo Zagreb) and Rui Patrício (Sporting CP)

Defenders: Bruno Alves (Fenerbahçe), Cédric and José Fonte (Southampton), Eliseu (Benfica), Pepe (Real Madrid), Raphael Guerreiro (Lorient), Ricardo Carvalho (Monaco) and Vieirinha (Wolfsburg)

Midfielders: Adrien Silva, João Mário and William Carvalho (Sporting CP), André Gomes (Valência), Bernardo Silva (Monaco), Danilo Pereira (FC Porto) and Renato Sanches (Benfica)

Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Danny (Zenit), Éder (Lille), Nani (Fenerbahçe), Rafa (SC Braga) and Ricardo Quaresma (Besiktas)

Portuguese claim 2-0 victory in Group 5

The national under-17 team got off on the right foot in the European Championships Elite Round this week, with a 2-0 win against Sweden. João Filipe and José Gomes were on target for the Portuguese.

Alvalade youngster Miguel Luís was given a place in the starting line-up, while Thierry Correia was introduced in the second-half. Luís Maximiano was given a place on the bench, while Leandro Tipote missed out through injury.

The top two teams from each group will move into the finals, which will be hosted in Azerbaijan.

Sporting-Arouca contributes to the João Rocha Arena

A total of 40,000 tickets have already been sold for Liga NOS matchday 27, which will see Sporting host Futebol Clube de Arouca at 18h30 on Saturday.

CELEBRATE FATHER'S DAY

Family of 3 tickets (Club Member + Adult + Under-11) are available for the North Goal End for just 21€.

CELEBRATE JUVENTUDE LEONINA'S 40TH BIRTHDAY

Portugal's oldest organised fan group celebrates its 40th birthday this Saturday.

CONTRIBUTE TO MISSION PAVILION

With a year to go until the opening of the João Rocha Arena, 2€ from each ticket sold will be donated to Mission Pavilion.

The Alvalade ticket offices are open from 10h to 20h. Non-renewed special seats will go on sale on Thursday, freeing up tickets for Stand B. Anti-Crisis tickets, priced at 5€ (sectors A9 and A11) are still available for Club Members.

With 13 league games played so far this season in Estádio José Alvalade, a new record for the average attendance has already been set, standing at 38,577.

Sales underway for Liga NOS matchday 27

Tickets for Liga NOS matchday 27, between Sporting and Arouca, are on sale as follows:

STAND A
Central – 22€ for Club Members and 32€ for fans
Lateral – 17€ for Club Members and 27€ for fans
Goal End – 12€ for Club Members and 22€ for fans
Under-23/Senior – 12€ for Club Members
Under-11 – 3.5€ for Club Members

STAND B
Central – 17€ for Club Members and 22€ for fans
Lateral – 12€ for Club Members and 17€ for fans
Goal End – 7€ for Club Members and 12€ for fans
Under-23/Senior – 7€ for Club Members
Anti-Crisis – 5€ for Club Members
Under-11 – 3.5€ for club Members

Family tickets - 21€ (3 people) // 25€ (4 people)

'Mission Pavilion' Match
A year until the opening of the João Rocha Arena, €2 from each ticket sold will be donated to 'Mission Pavilion'.

SALES POINTS

ESTÁDIO JOSÉ ALVALADE TICKET OFFICES

- 15th to 18th of March: from 10h to 20h
- 19th March (matchday): from 10h until half-time

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

- payment methods available: Multibanco, VISA and Mastercard
- multibanco option available up to 24 hours before kick-off
- PDF ticket: to be printed on A4 (can be in black and white)

REGRAS DE ACESSO AO ESTÁDIO

- Entry prohibited to children under the age of 3
- Children over the age of 3 (inclusive) require a ticket
- Under-11 Club Member ticket: from 3 (inclusive) to 11 years old and valid for any section
- Under-23 Club Member ticket: from 11 (inclusive) until 23 years old with different prices for Stand A and B
- Senior Club Member ticket: from the age of 65 (inclusive) with different prices for Stand A and B
- Special Seats have preference until 72 hours before kick-off
- Fan tickets purchased on matchday are subject to a 3€ tax
- Match included in all 2015/2016 Gamebox packages
- Member fee applicable: February 2016

FAMILY TICKET

- Available for all North Goal End tickets of Stand A and B

- Family of 3 (Member + Adult + Under-11): 21€

- Family of 4 (Member + Adult + Under-23 + Under-11): 25€

- Additional tickets available for Family of 4 (minimum of 2): Adult (10€) and under-23 (5€)

- Club Members can take advantage of this promotion (replacing their usual seat)

- Category B Club Members can purchase this promotion for North Goal End - Stand B
 

ANTI-CRISIS TICKET

- Sector A9 + A11 (limited to 723 tickets) and priced at 5€

Guilherme Oliveira comes off the bench to make penalty stop

Guilherme Oliveira come off the bench to save a penalty in Sporting B's win this Sunday afternoon, after Vladimir Stojkovic was shown a red card.

“It was more of an instinctive save. We study our opposition before the game and we know more or less how each player will take a penalty. I knew which way he would put it and I just threw everything that way. I managed to make a save, but the key thing was how we worked together when we were a man down", said the young goalkeeper at the final whistle, adding: "Santa Clara where pressing us a lot. We tried to do everything we could to hold out and what matters is that we won three points."

Francisco Barão stands in for João de Deus

Francisco Barão stepped in for João de Deus in a post-match press conference this Sunday, with the Sporting B coach currently suspended after seeing a red card earlier in the week.

“We could have secured the result a lot earlier. After going 2-0 up we had two or three more chances and we could have been ahead by three at half-time. Santa Clara's goal and the sending off obviously conditioned the game a lot. We really have to give the lads credit for reacting well after the red card. They are young, but the way they responded is a good sign for the future", opened the Sporting B assistant coach, going on to add a word on the appearances of first team regulars Paulo Oliveira, Tobias Figueiredo, Matheus Pereira and André Martins: "The B team is also a chance to give the lads a run out and we can take advantage of their experience. When we needed to close ranks we had the first team players with us."

Sporting B continue Ledman LigaPro revival

Sporting B continued their recent revival of form with a 2-1 win over Santa Clara this weekend, courtesy of strikes from Cristian Ponde (5') and Daniel Podence (29').

It really was a game of two halves at the Sporting Academy. João de Deus' side, although the Sporting B coach watched from the stands after being sent off midweek, made a dominating start, moving possession around well and thoroughly deserving an early goal. Mama Baldé put in another sterling performance at left-back, this time building Cristian Ponde's 5th minute goal with a pass into the middle of the 18-yard box. Secured by the early strike, Santa Clara fought back into the encounter and on 13 minutes the visitors came close to leveling through Hamdou, but Stojkovic pulled off a stop on his line to keep Sporting B ahead.

The team from Alvalade were soon back in control and a minute before the half-hour mark Podence doubled his side's lead after Mama Baldé battled back possession an released Matheus Pereira for the eventual pass that was converted by Daniel Podence. Six minutes before the break, Rúben Ribeiro could have made it three, but his header was finally cleared away after defecting off the crossbar.

The visitors from the Azores looked more determined to make a game of it in the second-half and after just a minute of play they were threatening goal, after Stojkovic failed to smother that ended up at the feet of Clemente. The Sporting B keeper tried to deny the resulting opportunity, but was only able to bring down the Santa Clara front man for a penalty and a red card. Guilherme Oliveira was called on off the bench and the young goalkeeper repaid the confidence with a save from 12 yards. Not to be dissuaded, Santa Clara continued to press, but Sporting B stood firm despite being a man down and managed to hold off the visitors' late rally.

João Mário on Sporting's win in Estoril on Saturday night

For João Mário, Saturday's win against Estoril was the perfect remedy following recent results.

“It was a good response from us and we knew it was important to react tonight. We had an unlucky result last weekend, but we are still strong and we still believe in the work we are putting in", said the Sporting midfielder in a post-match interview, adding: "We didn't kill the game off and I missed a chance as well. Estoril got a goal back, but I think we dominated and it is a good three points for us. The most important thing is that we do our job. That is all we can do and we will see what happens."

Jorge Jesus on his side's 2-1 win against Estoril

"It was yet another example that Sporting's fans are fantastic", opened Jorge Jesus in his post-match press conference this Saturday evening, dedicating the win to both the Sporting faithful and president Bruno de Carvalho.

Speaking about the match itself and how the title race is panning out, Jesus added: "We have less and less games to play. We said we would be in the fight until the end and that is where we are. The objective today was to win, to keep up the fight for first place. It was crucial that we win today and that is exactly what we did. I thought we were really strong in the first-half and showed a lot of quality. We had chances in the second-half and that could have set a different result. Estoril are really dangerous when they play with three up front and from crosses, because they have some players who are really strong in the air. When you start to concede possession then you can always let in a goal, which it ws happened."