Alvalade pair included for World Cup play-offs

The Sporting futsal stars Fortino and Merlim foram have been called up by Italian national coach Roberto Menichelli for the coming match against Hungary, in the first-leg of Italy's World Cup play-off.

The first-leg will be played on the 22nd March, with the return leg scheduled for the 12th of April.

Fortino and Merlim are no strangers to the Italian colours, having been part of the squad that took part in the European Championships earlier this year.

National under-19 futsal team in double header with Hungary

Sporting CP is once again the dominant side in the national under-19 futsal squad, this time for two friendlies against Hungary on the 2nd and 3rd of March.

Afonso Jesus, Ludgero, Bernardo Almeida and Manuel Mesquita are the four who feature in Pedro Palas' squad for the two encounters in the Azores.

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).

6-2 win secures place in quarter-finals

The national futsal team continued their solid start to the UEFA Futsal Euros this week, beating Slovenia 6-2 on matchday 2 of group A. The final result, set in the last minute, gives the Portuguese first place and the respective bearth in the next round.

Com Pedro Cary and João Matos featured in Jorge Braz's starting line-up, while Djô, Fábio Lima and Paulinho were introduced to the action over the course of the encounter. Despite the final result, the Portuguese actually fell behind after three minutes after a goal from Cujec in the third minute, before Fábio Cecílio (5’) and Ricardinho (16’) turned the scoreboard around. Just as it looked like Portugal would go in with a lead at the break, Vrhovec equalised after a well calculated move.

Portugal's superiority was obvious in the second half and it wasn't long before the scoreboard red 5-2, with a double from Ricardinho (24’ and 33’) and a strike from Sporting's Pedro Cary (31'). Curiously, at a time when four Sporting players were out on the court (João Matos, Pedro Cary, Fábio Lima and Paulinho). With a minute left on the clock, Fábio Cecílio closed out the final result with an easy finish.

Paulinho and Pedro Cary on target in 7-0 win

The national futsal team beat Qatar by a convincing 7-0 this week, in a friendly match ahead of the European Championships in Serbia.

In Rio Maior's Polsport Arena, Alvalade stars João Matos and Pedro Cary both featured in the starting line-up, while Djô, Paulinho and Fábio Lima were all introduced off the bench. After an own goal from Lucas (2’), Paulinho struck the second in the 7th minute and Cardinal the third three minutes later.

In the second-half, Cardinal bagged another three (22’, 24’ and 26’), before Pedro Cary rounded off the scoring three minutes from time.

Seven Alvalade stars in action in Belgrade

Alex Merlim and Rodolfo Fortino both feature in the Italian national futsal team for the European Championships final phase, being played in Belgrade from the 2nd to the 13th of February.

A total of seven Alvalade stars will be on international duty for the competition, with the Italian pair joining the Portuguese quintet of Djô, Fábio Lima, João Matos, Paulinho and Pedro Cary.

Sporting CP dominates Portuguese squad list

The national futsal coach Jorge Braz released his final squad list of 14 for the European Championship final phase, being held in Belgrade from the 2nd to the 13th of February.

Djô, Fábio Lima, João Matos, Paulinho and Pedro Cary all feature, making Sporting the most represented side. Portugal will feature in Group A of the competition, along with Slovenia and Serbia.

Squad list in full:

Sporting CP: Djô, Fábio Lima, João Matos, Paulinho and Pedro Cary

Fundão: Anilton

Axed Group Latina (Italy): Arnaldo

Inter FS (Spain): Cardinal and Ricardinho

Sp. Braga/AAUM: Tiago Brito e Vítor Hugo

Benfica: Bebé, Bruno Coelho and Fábio Cecílio

Jorge Braz includes eight Alvalade futsal stars

A total of eight Sporting players feature in the Portuguese preliminary squad list for the European Futsal Championships, taking place in Serbia from the 2nd of February.

João Benedito, André Sousa, Djô, João Matos, Pedro Cary, Paulinho, Fábio Lima and Miguel Ângelo are the eight selected, while Alex Merlim and Rodolfo Fortino are on the respective list for the Italians.

Portugal will take part in Group A, along with Slovenia and Serbia.

Alvalade winger wins 2015 nomination

Alex Merlim has been named Italian futsal's Player of the Year for 2015, in a vote through the Italian Football Federation's Vivo Azzurro website.

The Sporting winger tallied 40% of voted cast, beating the Acqua&Sapone goalkeeper Stefano Mammarella by 2%. The 2014 winner, El Pozo Murcia's Gabriel Lima, finished in third with 12% of the vote.

Alex Merlim signed in at Alvalade this season from Luparense, where he won two Italian Championships, an Italian Cup and a Super Cup. For Italy the 29-year old winger won the European Championships in 2014, after finishing third in the 2012 World Cup hosted in Thailand.

Portugal beat Netherlands 4-2 in friendly

The Portuguese national futsal team beat the Netherlands 4-2 in a friendly in Rotterdam this week, with Alvalade star Miguel Ângelo on target.

Ângelo was accompanied in the starting line up by fellow Sporting athletes João Matos and Pedro Cary, while Djô was introduced later on.

Portugal actually took a 3-0 lead, courtesy of goals from Joel Queirós (10’), Vítor Hugo (11’) and Miguel Ângelo (13’), before the Dutch struck back through Ceyar (18’) and El Morabiti (22’). Tiago Brito finished off the scoring on 30 minutes.