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Manchester United star Diego Dalot (24 years old) withdrew from the Portugal national team, for personal reasons related to a press report about the imminent arrival of his first child.
Dalot was expected to participate against Liechtenstein and Poland in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers after participating in 16 matches with his team this season in all competitions, but the player left the Portuguese camp to be next to his fiancée, Claudia Lopez, without the federation’s statement officially explaining the reason for his absence.
The Portuguese Federation issued a statement saying: “Joao Marino will launch his career with the national team after being called up to replace Diego Dalot. The Manchester United defender was allowed to leave the camp for personal reasons, after communicating with national team coach Roberto Martinez.
Dalot, a former Porto player, represented Portugal in 16 matches, and was a starter in the last five matches, but due to his circumstances, he will be replaced by Porto player Joao Marino, who represented Portugal 42 times, including matches with the under-15 and under-21 teams.
The post first appeared on www.alkhaleej.ae