Portugal to face Gibraltar (friendly) and Switzerland (World Cup qualifier)

Rui Patrício, William Carvalho, Adrien and João Mário all feature in Fernando Santos' squad for two coming fixtures.

Portugal will take on Gibraltar next Thursday, before facing Switzerland on the 6th of September in a World Cup qualifier.

Goalkeepers

- Rui Patrício (Sporting CP)
- Anthony Lopes (Lyon)
- Eduardo (D. Zagreb)

Defenders

- João Cancelo (Valencia)
- Cédric (Southampton)
- Pepe (Real Madrid)
- Bruno Alves (Cagliari)
- José Fonte (Southampton)
- Luís Neto (Zenit)
- Raphael Guerreiro (B. Dortmund)
- Eliseu (Benfica)

Midfielders

- William Carvalho (Sporting CP)
- Danilo (FC Porto)
- João Moutinho (Monaco)
- Adrien (Sporting CP)
- André Gomes (Barcelona)
- João Mário (Sporting CP)
- Renato Sanches (Bayern Munich)

Forwards

- Rafa Silva (Sp. Braga)
- Bernardo Silva (Monaco)
- Nani (Valencia)
- Quaresma (Besiktas)
- Éder (Lille)
- André Silva (FC Porto)

Bryan Ruiz brushes off results to focus on pre-season positives

Bryan Ruiz took a moment to speak with the press after Sporting's loss to PSV this week.

"We played against a really good side. We let a goal in really quick and also had a player sent off. It is really hard to play with 10 men from the 34th minute until the end of the match, but now we have to psh on and get some results. We are tired and it is normal that we aren't at our best right now", said the Costa Rican.

Assistant coach Raul José also spoke with Sporting TV at the final whistle, touching on the evening's refereeing: "The referee could have analysed the situation differently and not spoiled the match. We will take some notes and have a good week of training out of this. Honestly we aren't worried about winning right now and we are focused on getting the lads up to speed. We will look at a few situations ahead of the start of the season and look to win the competitions that we are involved in."

Early goal in Lausanne dictates loss in last match of Switzerland pre-season

Sporting's last match in Lausanne got off to the worse possible start this Monday night, with Luuk de Jong putting the Dutch side ahead from the penalty spot after five minutes. The foul leading to the spot kick was debatable and a reaction from Jorge Jesus' side was expected, but Sporting struggled to find a foothold and on 21 minutes Locadia made it 2-0 for PSV after with a simple tap in after De Jong had made the most out of a positional mistake from João Pereira.

Referee Sascha Amhof did attract his fair share of attention as time ticked over, particularly on the half-hour mark, when Matheus Pereira did well to dribble past two defenders before being brought crashing down in the area. However, the afternoon's official waved away the penalty appeals. Despite trailing right from the off, Sporting's fans kept up the noise for the entire encounter, in a show of support that completely overshadowed what was a final heavy 5-0 defeat.

Jesus and Carvalho hosted by Swiss-based fans

President Bruno de Carvalho and Jorge Jesus paid a special visit to the Sion Sporting Supporters' Club this Sunday, where they were received in a euphoric atmosphere by dozens of fans eager to meet their leaders. The two Alvalade helmsmen also took the opportunity to give the Supporters' Club a shirt signed by the entire squad.

“It is nice to see this kind of passion for the club and it makes us do even better. This is what we live for. Sporting is a huge family and we want to win in every sport", said the sporting president at the event, before enjoying a hosted dinner at the club.

Rúben Semedo highlights pre-season positives

Nobody likes to lose and Rúben Semedo is no exception. Speaking with radio journalists after Sporting's 4-2 defeat to Zenit, the Alvalade defender highlighted that pre-season results are far from being the most important factor: "We are getting better, despite the loss. We are looking for our best physical and tactical form. With how hard we have been working in training, it is only normal for us to be tired, but the squad is still taking on everything right now."

Sporting CP slip to 4-2 defeat in third friendly in Switzerland

Jorge Jesus kept his team in his preferred 4x4x2 formation for this Saturday's encounter with Zenit and with Bruno César down the left and Gelson Martins down the right, Sporting looked terrorising going forward in the opening exchanges. Hernán Barcos proved a constant nuisance for the Zenit defence, with Alan Ruiz in support with some incisive passing and shots from range. Petrovic sat at the base of midfield, behind Bryan Ruiz (who was again given the captain's armband). Jesus repeated his defensive selection that opened against Monaco, with Schelotto, Coates, Rúben Semedo and Marvin Zeegelaar in front of Azbe Jug.

Although Sporting looked by far the most threatening early on, it was Zenit, who already had six pre-season matches under their belts, who took the lead after just seven minutes when Javi Garcia escaped Coates marking and headed in from a corner. The lead for Mircea Lucescu's side lasted just two minutes, thanks to a darting run by Gelson Martins and a final pass for Bruno César to net the equaliser.

Just as the team from Alvalade were again cranking up the pressure, Zenit made the most of two defensive blunders in as many minutes to go 3-1 ahead. First it was Zhirkov who struck with an effort that Azbe Jug should have done better to stop, before Rúben Semedo approached a header wrong and ended up setting Kerzhakov through on goal. There was still time before the break however for Gelson Martins to get a much deserved goal, after a decent pass from Barcos.

The second-half brought with it the expected slowing of the pace, with not even a string of Sporting substitutions (Alan Ruiz, Matheus Pereira, Petrovic and Gelson Martins for Daniel Podence, Bruno César, Palhinha AND Iuri Medeiros). able to inject any energy into the action. Some good team play did see Sporting edge back up the pitch, but the first chance was made to wait until the 71st minute, when Podence had a chance to get a shot away attempted to set up Slimani, and the opportunity fizzled out. Five minutes from time, Djordjevic made it 4-2 for Zenit.

Sporting CP to face Russians in Switzerland

Building on the friendlies against Monaco and Stade Nyonnais during the week, Jorge Jesus' side will face a testing encounter against Zenit this Saturday evening.

The Sporting coach had his squad out on the training pitch in the morning, putting the final touches to the 19h00CET kick-off, in Stade de Chailly, Montreux.

João Pereira happy with Sporting's first pre-season win

João Pereira, who was rested for Wednesday's encounter against Monaco, was given a start against Nyonnais this Thursday and the wing-back obliged with Sporting's second goal in a 3-1 win.

“It is always good to win in the pre-season and it is always better to fix mistakes by winning instead of losing. In the first-half I thought we played well, although we missed a few opportunities. In the second-half we weren't as good, but we won and we can still improve a lot", said Pereira in a post-match interview, adding: "We have 29 players here in the squad and any one of us could be in the team. We are fighting for places and the more competition, the better. I am here to fight for my place as well and then the coach will decide. The new players are taking things on board bit by bit and we will improve."

Sporting CP tally first pre-season win with goals from Alan Ruiz, João Pereira and Jefferson

Jorge Jesus side claimed their first pre-season scalp this Thursday afternoon, with a 3-1 win against Nyonnais secured by a team totally different to the XI who started against Monaco a day earlier.

The first-half actually started well for Nyonnais, with Sporting giving up a little too much space in th area, however Stojkovic was able to make a stop. From then on it was all one-way traffic controlled by the team from Alvalade. Sporting's first chance came through a stroke of creativity from Aquilani, when the Italian picked out Alan Ruiz for a shot that was deflected wide. Next up it as Bruno César, brought down for a penalty that Alan Ruiz converted on for his first goal in a Sporting shirt.

Leading on the scoreboard, Jesus' side settled and more chances naturally followed. A string of good play down the wing between Bruno César and Jefferson create another chance for the latter, before Aquilani fired off target after a counter-attack led by Alan Ruiz. A deserved second goal came after a move down the right flank, rounded off by a pass from Alan Ruiz to release João Pereira for the finish.

Their was still time for another strike before the break. After Spalvis wasted a handful of chances to write his own name on the scoresheet, Jefferson netted a penalty to make it 3-0.

As would be largely expected at this stage of the season, the second-half saw the pace slow and the Swiss side made the most of it to pull a goal back through Besnik almost immediately after the restart. Sporting responded with a couple of chances of their own, first with Iuri Medeiros putting a shot painfully wide and later with Barcos denied by the keeper.

Sporting will next be in action at 18h00GMT on Saturday, against Zenit.

Fans with the chance to see their stars in training this weekend

Sporting Clube de Portugal notes that Sunday the 17th of June's training session in Switzerland will be open to the public.

The session will be held in the Juan Antonio Samaranch Stadium, Lausanne, at 09h00CET.