Diogo Dalot’s Portugal qualify for European under-21 championship finals

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Manchester United will have a player in the European Championship quarter-finals this summer.

Diogo Dalot helped Portugal reach the knockout phase after a 3-0 win over Switzerland.

Dalot’s Portugal were the only team in the group to win all three matches.

He played 90 minutes in all three games, with Portugal keeping clean sheets in every one. One of these was a 2-0 victory over England.

Dalot sent a message out last night to celebrate achieving the team’s objective: “End the group stage as we started. Congratulations to all for the accomplished goal 💪🏻🇵🇹 Quarterfinals 🔜”

When do the finals take place?

The quarter-finals will take place in the summer in Hungary and Slovenia beginning May 31.

Dalot’s Portugal will take on Italy and face the winner of Croatia and Spain in the semi-finals. Netherlands, France, Denmark and Germany make up the other half of the draw.

How will this affect Dalot?

The finals do take place quite early, and of course, Dalot’s involvement could just be for one match.

Portugal are one of the top sides though, and they could end up going all the way to the final on June 6.

Dalot will have a summer break after that, and he should still be alright to return to Manchester United for pre-season in July.

This just means instead of Dalot’s season ending when Serie A does on May 23, his campaign will be extended by a fortnight.

It’s good tournament experience for the youngster to pick up, especially if he ends up winning the trophy.

Dalot’s Manchester United future is very uncertain. The tournament probably won’t delay a decision over his future, which will only be resolved after he returns to pre-season, and will be dependent on offers and enquiries for him.

If anything, success for Portugal’s under-21s will make him more appealing to clubs and raise his price tag.

Clubs across Europe will be scouting the summer’s championships for young talent, just like they will have been watching these group stage games. Dalot has a chance to make a good impression.

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