The return of Pepe and Matheus Nunes and the call-up of Bruma are the new additions to the selection list of national coach Roberto Martínez for the matches with Liechtenstein (16th) and Iceland (19th), the latter who qualified for the finals of Euro 2024. for which Portugal has already qualified.
“We have been following Bruma since January. Last season he grew enormously, now he has experience in the Champions League and an important role. And that is the profile. We have lost Pedro Neto, players who can give what he gives are Bruma and Galeno . Bruma deserved it and gets the chance. Danilo is injured, he gives a chance to another player with a different profile and Matheus, who was at a different training camp, gets a chance. And he is in a dressing room that has won everything, now he is playing. It can give us different valences. It’s not a matter of not choosing a player, it’s a matter of choosing others. We have many aspects that we value and we do so in a very honest way,” said the national coach.
The winger of Sp. Braga is actually the biggest surprise, as he is called up for the first time by the coach who continues to pass Pedro Gonçalves. Roberto Martínez said again that the selection door is not closed, but that it is still difficult to enter. “We now have the internship to complete the qualifying phase. But then we have the internship in March, which is very important. The selection door is always open, but we need continuity. We need to create a competitive group. It’s hard to have a list of 23 players when we have many more. The answer is clear. The most difficult job for me and my technical team is to reduce the list from 26 to 23. Now the focus is on the match against Liechtenstein and Iceland, to complete this historic qualifying phase in the best possible way,” said Roberto Martínez, clearly saying that it will give Toti Gomes and José Sá the chance to debut.
The name of the Sporting player, who scored two penalties against Raków in the Europa League, while the coach watched from the stands at the José Alvalade Stadium, was the hot topic of the press conference. Is Pote gone for good? “Pote scored two goals yesterday. He is Sporting’s most important player, but I have players who enter these fields. You do everything right, it’s a matter of waiting for the opportunity.”
Pepe is back too. At the age of 40, he continues to play and compete at the highest level: “He has exemplary professionalism, very important experience. He deserves to be in the national team and his and our next objective is to be good for these matches.” Then we can value and analyze this. It’s good news to have Pepe’s experience and professionalism, I really enjoyed it when he was here.”
Here are those who have been drafted:
Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa, Rui Patrício, José Sá
Defense: Diogo Dalot, João Cancelo, Nélson Semedo, Pepe, Rúben Dias, António Silva, Gonçalo Inácio, Toti Gomes
Midfielders: João Palhinha, Rúben Neves, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Otávio, Vitinha, João Neves, Matheus Nunes
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, João Félix, Diogo Jota, Rafael Leão, Gonçalo Ramos, Bruma, Ricardo Horta
Even with qualification for Euro 2024 and top spot in Group J assured, the Spanish coach has already publicly stated the objective of completing qualifying with nothing but wins, something that would be unprecedented in the history of the national team.
The national team will play against Liechtenstein on November 16 at 7:45 PM (Lisbon time) in Vaduz and simultaneously against Iceland at the José Alvalade Stadium three days later.
Portugal leads Group J with 24 points, eight more than second-placed Slovakia, with Luxembourg, third, with 11. Iceland is fourth, with 10 points, ahead of Bosnia-Herzegovina with nine, and of Liechtenstein, last, without any points.
Source: DN
