Gustavo Varela, Serie A's top scorer, earns first Portugal call-up under Jorge Jesus

A first call-up for a Monza scorer

Gustavo Varela, a 21-year-old forward at Monza, has been called up to Portugal's senior squad for the first time, and Jorge Jesus has been impressed by him in the first days of camp. Correio da Manhã reports that the striker has shown great maturity and integrated easily into the group, qualities the coach had already noticed in Monza matches. Season tallies differ between outlets: Correio da Manhã gives 11 goals and one assist in 11 games, while Notícias ao Minuto puts him on nine goals at the top of Serie A's scoring list. He made his Benfica first-team debut in 2023/24, was loaned to Gil Vicente, and was then sold to Monza for 2.5 million euros, with Benfica keeping 20% of any future sale. He had been called up regularly to the Under-21 side coached by Luís Freire before this call-up.

Reaction to the call-up

Varela learned he had been picked while giving an interview to an Italian newspaper. Asked what a call-up would mean to him, he had said it would be like winning a trophy, and the journalist then told him his trophy had arrived. In interviews with the Portuguese Football Federation's channels, he described the news as a complete surprise.

“I did not expect it at all. At that moment, I started to fly.”

He said he was nervous at first, and more so when he saw the senior players, but he was already getting to know them. Jesus, in his view, is a coach who keeps close track of his players, explains his ideas clearly and likes to joke around with the group. Varela also said the Under-21 and senior setups share a training space but work in very different ways. He named Cristiano Ronaldo as his idol and said he grew up watching him play.

Training through storm Charles

Storm Charles brought heavy rain and wind, and government restrictions on outdoor activity limited the squad's work. Jesus still held a shortened session outside, which João Cancelo joined, and in the afternoon used an indoor session to analyse Denmark, Portugal's opponents on Saturday. Bad weather had also cancelled planned activities at the Cidade do Futebol. Jesus is keen for fellow debutants Nazinho and Alberto Costa to be well received, and Varela has shown great commitment in training.

“We never know what tomorrow holds. Things can change from one moment to the next.”

He said he tries to enjoy the moment and intends to keep working so that any change in his situation is not a drastic one.

Nations League run-in

Portugal have already qualified for the Nations League finals and are assured of a place in the quarter-finals. They are the unbeaten leaders of Group A4 with 12 points after winning their first four matchdays, ahead of Denmark on six and Wales and Norway on three. Portugal host Denmark in Braga on Saturday, 14 November, in a match already sold out, and need only one point to confirm first place. They then travel to Cardiff to face Wales on Tuesday, 17 November, closing the group. These are the first matches since Cristiano Ronaldo officially left the national team after 23 years, 234 matches and 146 goals.

Portugal12

Denmark6

Wales3

Norway3

Portugal

12 points

Denmark

6 points

Wales

3 points

Norway

3 points

Data from the article text