Portugal’s national squad coach says performance key when selecting Portugal’s side for 2026 World Cup

 

Roberto Martínez, one of the leading lights in UK football over the first 15 years of this century, addressed members of the International Club of Portugal on Tuesday to talk about his experiences as both a coach and a manger and give insights into where Portugal’s national squad is going in the future.

Martínez had a significant career in the UK, both as a player and a manager. As a player, he spent most of his career in England with Wigan Athletic and also played for Motherwell, Walsall, Swansea City, and Chester City.

He transitioned to management with Swansea City, winning the Premier League before moving to Wigan Athletic, where he won the FA Cup in 2013, and then managed Everton.

But Martinez’s most prominent playing role was with Wigan, where he played from 1995-2001, becoming a fan favourite, making 227 appearances.

Martínez began his management career in Swansea in 2007, leading them to promotion from the Premier League in 2008 and as a result was awarded Premier League Manager of the Year for the 2007-2008 season.

Within a year he was managing Wigan, the club where he had played, from 2009 to 2013 and during his tenure he guided the club of FA victory in 2013, a crowning achievement.

Martinez then moved to Everton as manager in 2013 and in his first season took the club to finish in fifth place – their highest finish in years.

But he came to the International Club of Portugal to discuss his role as the coach of Portugal’s national squad and the difficult job he has selecting who will make the national squad and who doesn’t.

First off, Martínez dispelled rumours that he didn’t like players from Portugal’s Sporting Football Club and that he deliberately sidelined them when making selections, saying that a coach had to be neutral, choosing players on their performance and merit over time.

However, he did say that the players Paulinho, André Silva and Fábio Lopes were three possible options for forwards for the national squad that will participate in the World Cup in 2026 which will be hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico.

Speaking on leadership, the national coach fielded questions from the invited guests and members of the ICPT and who would be good candidates for the World Cup.

“We currently have three options – Paulinho who had performed very consistently and is playing well, André Silva who has been having a very good season at Elche, and Fábio Lopes who is already on the national squad”, he said.

Paulinho currently plays for Mexican club Toluca, André Silva plays for Spain’s Elche club, while Fábio Silva plays for Borussia Dortmund.

He said that the three could expect to be called by March 20 – the time when the proposed selection would be whittled down for the final selection.

Roberto Martínez also addressed the specific case of Sporting FC players Pedro Gonçalves, Francisco Trincão and Geovany Quenda, refusing to rule out or confirm these three players being selected for the World Cup.

”I will be very honest, because I’ve had criticism (that I’m deliberately not choosing Sporting players) and that is a lie.

I have heard that the coach (Martínez) does not like Sporting players, but a coach has to be impartial and neutral.

This coach was born in Spain, worked in England, and for the last seven years has worked in Belgium, wears no shirt, has no past (in Portugal), and makes decisions on which players are the best to win games,” he affirmed at the lunch.

Photo: ICPT Fernando Bento