Liverpool playmaker Fabio Carvalho may be gearing up to play for England having rejected a call-up from the Portugal Under-21’s.
The Reds have a number of players heading away to the World Cup this week.
The likes of Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Darwin Nunez will all be on show in Qatar.
Others will be staying back in England, with one player even snubbing the opportunity to play for his country.
Fabio Carvalho snubs Portugal call-up
Liverpool youngster Carvalho has decided not to play for Portugal’s Under-21’s.
They take on the Czech Republic and Japan over the next week with Under-21 games continuing despite the World Cup.
Portugal called up Carvalho but he has decided not to play.
A statement has been released by the Portuguese Football Federation in which they state that Carvalho has ‘decided to give up’ playing for Portugal.
This would suggest that the Liverpool talent isn’t just missing a couple of games but is withdrawing from Portuguese games altogether.
The statements adds that Carvalho sent ‘some SMS messages’ to communicate his decision and Portugal will now go on without him.
Carvalho, 20, was born in Portugal and has already bagged two goals in four caps for Portugal’s Under-21’s.
Carvalho does though qualify for England having moved at a young age, and he even played for England at Under-16, Under-17 and Under-18 levels.
Portugal must now believe that Carvalho is pulling away from Portugal in order to represent England moving forward, which is a real coup for England.
This decision is a shock, especially as Carvalho was listed in Portugal’s initial 55-man squad for the World Cup before eventually missing out.
Portugal seemingly had no clue that this decision was coming and Carvalho’s next move will be interesting as he considers his international future, with the playmaker also able to play for Angola.
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