António Silva omitted! Jorge Jesus on ex-Benfica man: “I opted to…” | OneFootball

Jorge Jesus unveiled this Friday his first squad as Portugal head coach, and one of the most striking absences is António Silva. The former Benfica player was left out of the options for the first four matches of the new UEFA Nations League phase, with the coach directly explaining the decision. The centre-backs called up by JJ were Rúben Dias, Tomás Araújo, Renato Veiga and Gonçalo Inácio.

Portugal will begin the competition on 24 September against Wales at Alvalade, followed by an away trip to Norway three days later. The team will also face Denmark on 1 October before hosting Wales again at the Estádio do Dragão.

Asked about the absence of António Silva, Jorge Jesus explained that he preferred to keep continuity in central defence: “I only called up four centre-backs. António could have been included, but I chose to keep the same four. Of the four, two have already worked with me, which is very important to me, Tomás and Rúben. The other two will be starting now,” the head coach explained.

The decision leaves António Silva out of a squad that includes four options for the centre of defence, in a choice based mainly on continuity and the coach’s prior knowledge. Jorge Jesus also explained the choice of Fábio Silva for the attack, highlighting the striker’s characteristics and his age compared to other alternatives.

“He has different characteristics from all the others. And among the other two who could also have been here, André Silva and Gonçalo Paciência, he is 24 years old,” he said. The new head coach also offered a guarantee regarding squad management: “Everyone who has been called up can be in the starting eleven.”

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