Bernardo Silva’s role v Ireland, coach on ex-Benfica star: The idea was... | OneFootball

On the last night, Portugal had to sweat, and a lot, to secure the win against Ireland (1-0), in a 2026 World Cup qualifying match. One of the novelties in the Seleção was adapting Bernardo Silva to the left wing; however, Roberto Martínez switched the former Benfica player’s position, and the change did not go unnoticed.

Questioned by journalists about his new tactic, the national coach began by stressing that the opponent’s strategy made its execution difficult: “Ireland were very asymmetrical, and it was difficult to attack with our concepts.”

He then explained what he really intended when he swapped the former Benfica and former Braga players’ flanks in the second half: “The idea was to have Pedro Neto wide on the left, use Nuno Mendes arriving 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 down their defense: “These are aspects they know; it’s difficult for the opponent. With the players coming on, they added. Happy with the attitude and commitment.”

It should be remembered that Portugal achieved their third win in qualifying, after beating Armenia (5-0) and Hungary (3-2) in the previous rounds. Leading the group with 9 points, the Seleção return to the field on the 14th against the Hungarians and, with a win, secure their ticket to the World Cup.

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