Bernardo Silva’s role v Ireland: Coach on ex-Benfica star, "The idea…" | OneFootball

Last night, Portugal had to sweat quite a bit to secure the victory against Ireland (1-0), in a qualifying match for the 2026 World Cup. One of the novelties in the national team was the adaptation of Bernardo Silva to the left wing, however, Roberto Martínez switched the position of the former Benfica player and the change did not go unnoticed.

When questioned by journalists about his new tactic, the national coach began by highlighting that the opponent's strategy made its execution difficult: "Ireland was very asymmetrical and it was difficult to attack with our concepts".

He then explained what he really intended to do when he switched the former Benfica and former Braga players on the wings in the second half of the game: "The idea was to have Pedro Neto on the outside on the left, use Nuno Mendes coming inside, and Bernardo inside on the right".

To conclude, the Spanish coach emphasized that it was a strategy to create greater difficulties for Ireland, in order to break their defense: "These are aspects they know, it's difficult for the opponent. With the entry of the players, they added. Happy with the attitude and commitment".

The national team will return to the field on the 14th against the Hungarians and, in case of victory, will secure the ticket to the World Cup.

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