Internationals | Neto and Otasowie set for second caps

18th March 2021
Wolves forward Pedro Neto and midfielder Owen Otasowie have maintained their places in the Portugal and USA national team squads for the March internationals having made their first appearances for their countries last year.

21-year-old Neto, who was the first player born in the 2000s to be named in the Portugal national team squad during the November 2020 international break, took just eight minutes to mark his senior debut for his country with an opening goal, putting Portugal into the lead in their 7-0 win over Andorra.

His form for Wolves this season, which has seen the winger top Wolves’ goals and assists charts, has earned him another place in Portugal’s squad for the upcoming international period, as begin their World Cup 2022 qualification campaign.

Neto joins three Wolves teammates, Rui Patricio, Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho, in the squad for matches against Azerbaijan, Serbia and Luxembourg, which will take place between 24th and 30th March.

US international Otasowie, 20, also made his first appearance for the country of his birth in the last international period, coming off the bench in the 0-0 friendly draw against Wales in Swansea.

He will be hoping to earn his full USMNT debut in one of two friendlies the US are playing as part of their European training camp in March, as they take on Jamaica in Austria, and Northern Ireland in Belfast – the first time the teams have met for 70 years.

Elsewhere, captain Conor Coady has retained his place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for their World Cup qualifiers against San Marino, Albania and Poland, and Leander Dendoncker will join up with Belgium for their qualifying fixtures.

Romain Saiss and Willy Boly will be in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying with Morocco and Ivory Coast respectively, while Vitinha is among the Portugal under-21 squad who are playing their U21 Euro group stage matches in the next fortnight.

Raul Jimenez will also be joining up with the Mexican national team’s training camp in Wales for a few days as part of his recovery from injury. The Mexico squad will train in the Welsh capital in preparation for their friendly at Cardiff City Stadium.

“I took to the project, and I believe in it a lot. I will do everything for the fans.”

Matheus Cunha