Roberto Martínez on World Cup dream: 'If this team can go far, let's go' | OneFootball

National team coach Roberto Martínez spoke to The Guardian in an interview in which he addressed a number of topics. He began by mentioning the dream of winning the World Cup for the first time, recalling a historic phrase from Otto Glória before the 1966 finals:

“He said, ‘Let us dream,’ and I think that’s lovely. Why not embrace the expectation now? Build hope? Why not take on that responsibility? If people think this team can go far, let’s go with that.”

He then highlighted the country’s football culture:

“Portugal is a football school. Ten million people and yet they fill the best dressing rooms in the world. It is also a seafaring country. Ready to leave, to learn languages: open, outward-looking, turned towards Europe. There is a desire to go out and complete their development, which helps them be ultra-competitive but respectful, while the structure allows that, from 15 to 23, there are eight players per position following the same elite methodology. Pedro Neto, Vitinha, João Neves and Renato Veiga have all come into the starting XI since we arrived: that level of development is exemplary.”

Roberto Martínez also stressed the importance of building a solid foundation in the national team dressing room:

“You can’t create a space where all you hear is: ‘You have to win.’ Win, of course, but how? You have to create a habit, a culture, clarity in the players’ roles. Winning the Nations League was very important for us: the structure, the processes, winning a final against Spain, the world No. 1, the European champions. I wouldn’t say there is anxiety in Portugal about winning the World Cup; I’d say it’s excitement, hope. That comes with these players. We’re talking about Cristiano Ronaldo. The captain of Manchester United (Bruno Fernandes). The captain of FC Porto (Diogo Costa). The captain of Manchester City (Bernardo Silva). Four important players for the European champions (Nuno Mendes, João Neves, Vitinha and Gonçalo Ramos). That makes the Portuguese people feel good and confident.”

Lastly, he revealed an interest in numerology and argued that the numbers may be in favour of a historic achievement:

“We know we have never won the World Cup and that tells us it is difficult. We know things can change quickly, that talent alone is not enough, that small details can go against you and, of course, it is a hard blow when you don’t succeed, but let us dream. I think we can. And that is the attitude I want our team to have. I’m not superstitious, but I like numerology. And that coming from someone born on 13 July. (…) In England they always said: ‘Wow, what bad luck!’, ‘What a day.’ No! I like it. And it’s wonderful to think about Euro 2016 or Eusébio: top scorer in 1966, Ballon d’Or winner in 1965, the 60 years since his World Cup [2026]… It’s all sixes. Let’s dream. Why not?”

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