Midfielder Domingos Quina has been called up to Portugal’s U19 squad for the upcoming UEFA European Championship.
Quina and Portugal get their campaign underway against hosts Georgia on July 2 before two more group matches against Czech Republic three days later and then Sweden on July 8.
The young star has enjoyed a terrific first season at West Ham United, since joining from Chelsea last summer, and his call up to the Portugal camp is another huge achievement in the 17-year-old’s young career.
He was part of the national squad that won the UEFA U17 European Championship last year and Quina believes the team can draw on the success from last year as this year's tournament progresses.
"I'm not sure if [last year] will help at the start because we have to make sure we get through the group first but if we get through to final, we can start thinking about last year because we won," he said.
"We know we are ready for the competition and we know we have a long way to go to get to the final.
"I'm happy to be selected because it's a unique competition for the U19s and I cannot wait to get started and show people what I can do."
Portugal's U17 triumph last summer kickstarted a wonderful year for Quina on a personal level.
I'm happy to be selected because it's a unique competition for the U19s and I cannot wait to get started and show people what I can do.
Domingos Quina
Hammers boss Slaven Bilic spotted Quina’s talent within weeks of his arrival in east London and he made the young star a regular at first team training sessions at Rush Green.
The midfielder’s main source of game time came with Terry Westley’s U23s and he produced a moment of magic in the Hammers first Premier League Cup fixture of the season, lobbing the Leicester City goalkeeper from the halfway line in a 2-0 victory at Loughborough University. Just a few weeks later, Quina was nominated for the October Premier League 2 Player of the Month.
He continued his consistent performances in the heart of the Hammers PL2 midfield throughout the season and, despite missing the promotion run-in through injury, Quina won the Dylan Tombides Award at the Player Awards evening in May after being recognised as the outstanding player from the Academy of Football.
Quina has also had a taste of first team matchdays after being named on the bench 12 times in Premier League fixtures over the course of the season, and he hopes to achieve his dream of making a full West Ham debut next season.
"I wasn't expecting this year to go as well as it has but I always believe in my ability and I know what I can do," he continued.
"Last year could have been even better if my dream [of playing for the West Ham first team] came true but I know I still have a lot to learn and hopefully that will happen."
Like Quina, goalkeeper Nathan Trott will also be at the U19 Euros in Georgia after being selected in the England squad. You can watch the progress of our young stars on Eurosport when the tournament gets underway on July 2.