Ibroxblue 122 Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Pedro Mendes has been recalled to the Portugal national squad for their games against Hungary and Malta after over a year in the wilderness. The Rangers midfielder, 30, has not played for his country since 2003 with his last call-up coming in August 2008. The European giants are struggling to qualify for next summer's World Cup in South Africa as they lie third in Group One, level on points with fourth-place Hungary. The double-header of home fixtures will determine their fate but boss Carlos Queiroz has named a strong squad, despite a number of injuries, with six points a must. Malaga striker Edinho returns to the squad while midfielders Tiago, Nuno Assis, Duda and Chelsea right-back Jose Bosingwa hope to shake off knocks in time to feature. Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to start against Hungary after recovering from the ankle injury which kept him out of Real Madrid's 2-1 defeat to Sevilla the weekend. Portugal are relying on Sweden to drop points from their corresponding final two games to advance to the play-offs, where they could expect to be seeded. Squad in full: Beto (Porto), Eduardo (Braga), Rui Patricio (Sporting) Jose Bosingwa (Chelsea), Bruno Alves (Porto), Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea), Cesar Peixoto (Benfica), Pepe (Real Madrid), Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea), Rolando (Porto) Deco (Chelsea), Duda (Malaga), Joao Moutinho (Sporting), Miguel Veloso (Sporting), Raul Meireles (Porto), Tiago (Juventus), Nuno Assis (Vitoria Guimaraes), Pedro Mendes (Glasgow Rangers) Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Liedson (Sporting), Nani (Manchester United), Nuno Gomes (Benfica), Simao Sabrosa (Atletico Madrid), Edinho (Malaga). http://www.teamtalk.com/football/story/0,1...5614257,00.html Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
kplfishtank 4,660 Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 must have a pretty shit midfield if one game a month can get in theyre squad Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
simplythebest 11,453 Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 I don't see how he's merited this all of a sudden? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boab 73 Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Super news Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MasterD 7,442 Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Glad he's in it, good 2 have players in good national teams, but i dont think he deserves it on his performances of late Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muff 245 Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Hopefully lift his confidence, and kick him into gear! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott-RFC 308 Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Hopefully inspire him to better stuff for us. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasGers 96 Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Would be great if Pedro got to play some part this time Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottBF2 3,540 Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Portugal could use him. Give Mendes space and he'll rip teams apart. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
disgruntled_bear 157 Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Good news, gives Mendes a opportunity to get back to his best Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goianegra 4,686 Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Damn, why didn't they call him up when he was playing well for us? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ofb1988 61 Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 they call him up for shite games didnt they do this before with malta? also am i being stupid thinking hes filling a gap for the bigger players who wanna avoid injury? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
salmon 1 Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Hasnt kicked a ball for weeks and doesnt look interested i dont know what is wrong with him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibroxblue 122 Posted October 6, 2009 Author Share Posted October 6, 2009 I actually think Pedro played pretty well against Stuttgart, Celtic and even Sevilla even if he didn't do anything spectacular. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambo1873 0 Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Not sure whats wrong him!! Never our captain though? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSuedeSambas 54,215 Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 I actually think Pedro played pretty well against Stuttgart, Celtic and even Sevilla even if he didn't do anything spectacular. The work he gets through, aswell as the way he knits play often goes unoticed and it's absolutely vital to our side, and you cannot say we didn't miss him against Aberdeen. Killie aside, he hasn't been anywhere as bad as people are making out and it seems that people are making him a scrapegoat simply because he is Pedro Mendes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilliamFyfe 1,438 Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Great news for Pedro, Well done! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EuanC 0 Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 if it was barry ferguson instead of mendes his head would have called for in the games prior to sunday .. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOLUWDC 1 Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 His tackling and interceptions are underated. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SandyWaTp Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 Hopefully this will give his season a kick-start. However, he hasn't been as bad as people have been making out. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueSuedeSambas 54,215 Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 if it was barry ferguson instead of mendes his head would have called for in the games prior to sunday .. If it was Barry Ferguson instead of Mendes people would be defending him stating that the lack of quality around him was hindering his performacnes... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
papaguy51 912 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 I actually think Pedro played pretty well against Stuttgart, Celtic and even Sevilla even if he didn't do anything spectacular. The work he gets through, aswell as the way he knits play often goes unoticed and it's absolutely vital to our side, and you cannot say we didn't miss him against Aberdeen. Killie aside, he hasn't been anywhere as bad as people are making out and it seems that people are making him a scrapegoat simply because he is Pedro Mendes. Nail. Head. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott-RFC 308 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 I actually think Pedro played pretty well against Stuttgart, Celtic and even Sevilla even if he didn't do anything spectacular. The work he gets through, aswell as the way he knits play often goes unoticed and it's absolutely vital to our side, and you cannot say we didn't miss him against Aberdeen. Killie aside, he hasn't been anywhere as bad as people are making out and it seems that people are making him a scrapegoat simply because he is Pedro Mendes. Yes! ive tried to explain this. Hes not making any headlines but hes still making a big contribution. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasGers 96 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 I actually think Pedro played pretty well against Stuttgart, Celtic and even Sevilla even if he didn't do anything spectacular. The work he gets through, aswell as the way he knits play often goes unoticed and it's absolutely vital to our side, and you cannot say we didn't miss him against Aberdeen. Killie aside, he hasn't been anywhere as bad as people are making out and it seems that people are making him a scrapegoat simply because he is Pedro Mendes. Yes! ive tried to explain this. Hes not making any headlines but hes still making a big contribution. I re-watched the OF game, and he made several important interceptions and tackles and started a fair number of attacks. I think people expect him to dribble around 6 guys like Ronaldo or Simao just because he's Portuguese Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott-RFC 308 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 I actually think Pedro played pretty well against Stuttgart, Celtic and even Sevilla even if he didn't do anything spectacular. The work he gets through, aswell as the way he knits play often goes unoticed and it's absolutely vital to our side, and you cannot say we didn't miss him against Aberdeen. Killie aside, he hasn't been anywhere as bad as people are making out and it seems that people are making him a scrapegoat simply because he is Pedro Mendes. Yes! ive tried to explain this. Hes not making any headlines but hes still making a big contribution. I re-watched the OF game, and he made several important interceptions and tackles and started a fair number of attacks. I think people expect him to dribble around 6 guys like Ronaldo or Simao just because he's Portuguese I thought he looked for possession in the OF game more than anyone else on the pitch. Although we played the high ball alot, whenever football was being played from us, Pedro was behind it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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