André Silva dares to dream of Portugal return under Jesus: “Why not?” | OneFootball

André Silva is one of FC Porto’s new signings for 2026/27, having completed his return to the blue-and-white club nine years later. At 30, the striker still harbors the desire to be called up again to the national team, now that Jorge Jesus has replaced Roberto Martínez as head coach.

“At first it felt a bit strange to me [being away from the call-ups for so long], but it’s normal because in recent seasons I wasn’t at my level, or the context didn’t allow it either in terms of numbers. I respect the coaches, who are our leaders, the captains of the ships, and each one has their own ideas to bring out the best in the club or the national teams,” stressed the 30-year-old centre-forward in an interview with Sport TV.

“With coach Martínez there was only one moment when we were together, when he arrived. After that there was no more conversation. There was always some expectation and I was always ready to try to give my best for it to happen, but it was something I knew I had no control over at all, so I stayed calm, waiting for the right moment and being respectful,” added the forward, who has scored 19 goals in 53 senior international appearances and has not worn the Portugal shirt since the 1-2 defeat to South Korea in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Asked about the possibility of a call-up from Jorge Jesus, André Silva replied without hesitation: “Yes, why not? It is still a dream for me to represent the national team. I feel like I stopped going only yesterday, in other words, I feel like I’m still part of that space, and I have the same desire and the same dream of representing Portugal now and in the next competitions. It has always been a mission of mine and it will continue to be as long as I am at my best.”

Confidence boosted by Ronaldo’s praise

“That fills us with confidence. At that moment I was coming from a path in which I went from being a kid to playing with Cristiano, who was my idol. Playing alongside him gave me emotion and energy above the norm. I ran for the team, helped him, and I also felt that by doing that I created plenty of chances for him to score. At the same time, I felt that he also wanted me to start scoring for the national team and was happy about it.”

The connection with CR7 and the first goal for Portugal

“It wasn’t words or expressions, it was attitudes or looks. In football, in a match, we are able to read, look and see expressions. And I remember an important moment in my first goal, when I saw in Cristiano’s expression the feeling that he wanted me to score or that he was expecting me to score. I don’t know if that was just my interpretation, but you end up feeling it. Yes, the empathy was there, and Cristiano himself made it public as well.”

Portugal’s ambitions for the 2026 World Cup

“Of course I always had a lot of confidence, because of the quality we have, but it is much easier to talk about past expectations after the results. The quality we have is undeniable. Looking at the champions or the four semifinalists, I think that as a group we could have done a bit more, from an outside perspective. It is easier to talk from the outside, but comparing our quality with those four semifinalists, we are on equal footing. The most important thing is to have unity and push for everyone.”

Contact with several Spanish world champions

“I remember some of them, like Dani Olmo, Zubimendi, Merino and Oyarzabal. They are players of enormous quality. One of the things that stands out is the energy they put into training every day and the conviction, the character to win. That is what helps us reach the big stages and compete as if we were competing in our own backyard with our teammates. That helps create that unity and confidence. The collective logic of competitiveness.

Jorge Jesus has not yet coached André Silva

“I haven’t had the opportunity to work with the coach, but wherever he has been he has always won titles. I think he is a coach with charisma and the ability to bring that out, at least from the work seen from the outside in the teams he has managed.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.