Martínez rues Sporting star's absence before Portugal v Armenia | OneFootball

Nuno Mendes was the major absence from Roberto Martínez's squad for this FIFA break. The former Sporting player was injured while playing for PSG and was not called up by the coach, who regretted not being able to use the full-back, as well as Cristiano Ronaldo - who left a message of support - sent off against Ireland.

"(Ronaldo is always missed) Always. With his experience... Nuno Mendes is also missed, as is Pedro Neto... but it's also important to be able to win games without these players. We need to know how to win when there are players who cannot play", admitted the coach.

Roberto Martínez also admitted that the defeat to Ireland is in the past: "It's behind us, but with a lot of responsibility. The self-critical reaction was very good, to grow and now we have a great opportunity. Reaching the last home game without a calculator shows what the players have done. Today we are ready to show our fans".

This season, Nuno Mendes - valued at 75 million euros - has already played 14 games for PSG - nine in Ligue 1, four in the Champions League, and another in the European Super Cup. In the 951 minutes played, the full-back has already scored four goals and provided three assists.

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