The soul of Portuguese soccer, Cron, leads a group of eight elite national team players who will be taking a short break from Friday's late-night warm-up match against Sweden. However, the best of the best will then return to the fold in preparation for next Wednesday's late-night away game against Slovenia.
The official announcement revealed that head coach Martinez has recently handpicked 32 players to prepare for the match and they will be divided into two groups. The first round of warm-up matches at home against Sweden will be played with substitutes, while eight starters, including Cron, Darroch, Zuo Janslu, Danilo Penrina, Odavio Emerson, Rubin Nieves, Vitana and Zuo Felix, will be able to take a break and return to the team later on.
GOAL Magazine has an in-depth read on the wisdom of Cron getting a vacation. These eight players are all stalwarts of the national team and are almost certain to be selected for the Euros. Therefore, Martinez chose to rest them, and this warm-up match will give the substitutes and fringe players a chance to show themselves in order to compete for a place in the national team.
