March 19, 2008 6:14 PM

SOURCE:
uefa.com

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Carlos Martins wins Portugal recall

Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has recalled midfielder Carlos Martins to his 20-man squad for next week's friendly against European champions Greece.

Impressive displays
The 25-year-old has scored six goals in 25 Primera División starts for RC Recreativo de Huelva since moving to Spain from Sporting Clube de Portugal last summer – and has been rewarded with the opportunity to add to his two caps won in autumn 2006. Luis Miguel, Pepe, João Moutinho, Miguel Veloso, Simão and Nuno Gomes also return for the Greece game in Dusseldorf on 26 March, but FC Barcelona's Deco and Bosingwa of FC Porto miss out with pulled thigh muscles.

Unhappy memories
FC Internazionale Milano midfielder Maniche is overlooked together with SL Benfica trio Quim, Petit and Ariza Makukula. The Greece encounter is a repeat of the opening and closing matches of UEFA EURO 2004™, both won by Greece, and is Portugal's final friendly before this summer's tournament in Austria and Switzerland. Scolari's men will take part in a training camp at Viseu between 18 and 31 May, before playing Turkey, Czech Republic and Switzerland in Group A.

Players studied
"Our finals squad will be unveiled on 12 May and until then we have to see how the players come along," said Scolari. "The players in this squad have all been monitored and are in better condition than those I've left out. I've looked at Carlos Martins' performences and have decided to select him as he's one of the players who can replace Deco. Let's see how he does if he gets the chance to play. I don't have bad memories of our games against Greece – but if we play well, we can beat them for the first time in four matches."

Portugal squad
Goalkeepers: Ricardo (Real Bétis Balompié), Rui Patrício (Sporting Clube de Portugal).

Defenders: Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea FC), Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea FC), Bruno Alves (FC Porto), Jorge Ribeiro (Boavista FC), Marco Caneira (Valencia CF), Luis Miguel (Valencia CF), Fernando Meira (VfB Stuttgart), Pepe (Real Madrid CF).

Midfielders: Carlos Martins (RC Recreativo de Huelva), Raul Meireles (FC Porto), Miguel Veloso (Sporting Clube de Portugal), João Moutinho (Sporting Clube de Portugal).

Forwards: Nuno Gomes (SL Benfica), Simão (Club Atlético de Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United FC), Nani (Manchester United FC), Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen), Ricardo Quaresma (FC Porto).