Alvalade futsal star called up by Roberto Menichelli for friendlies against Croatia and Serbia

The Sporting CP futsal star Alex Merlim has been included in the Italian national team for two coming friendly fixtures against Croatia and Serbia.

The Italian will be on duty with Roberto Menichelli's side as of the 23rd of January, ahead of the encounter against Croatia on the 24th and Serbia on the 29th.

Serbian national coach happy to see Marković back in training

Lazar Marković had been in Lisbon for lass than 24 hours, but he already has his boots on and was on the training pitch for Wednesday's afternoon session in Alcochete.

Speaking in an interview with the newspaper O Jogo, the Serbian national coach, Slavoljub Muslin, also proved pleased with Marković's return to the Portuguese capital: "It is good for him to go back to a country where he was happy and where he showed hsi quality. It is also important for him to be with a coach that knows him and that makes him a better player. I think Jorge Jesus will turn him into a real weapon for Sporting.”

All-Iberian quarter-final in UEFA Futsal Euro 2016

The national futsal team conceded their first loss of UEFA Futsal Euro 2016 this weekend, missing out 3-1 to Serbia in the last match of group A. The Portuguese will now take on Spain in the quarter-finals.

Alvalade stars Pedro Cary and João Matos started the encounter, while Paulinho, Djô and Fábio Lima also features. Serbia took an 8th minute lead through Kocic, before Ricardinho restored the deadlock five minutes before the break.

Second-half strikes from Rajcevic (37’) and Simic (40’) sealed the win for Serbia, despite Portugal having more than double the number of efforts on goal (49-22).