Samu on Porto’s flying start: “Farioli has given us a new mindset”

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Portal dos Dragões

·16 November 2025

Samu on Porto’s flying start: “Farioli has given us a new mindset”

Samu, FC Porto forward, gave an assessment of the start of the Dragons’ season, as they lead the league with 31 points, three more than Sporting and six ahead of Benfica.

“There’s always pressure from the fans, but I’m also demanding of myself and always want to do better than the previous season. It’s been a very exciting season, things are going well, partly thanks to the coach [Farioli], who has instilled a new mentality in us,” he said in an interview with Europa Press, also mentioning his time with the national team.

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Samu believes he could be called up by Luis de la Fuente for the 2026 World Cup and accepts that he may not be the first choice.

“I know what I do well. The numbers don’t lie and, in the end, it doesn’t matter if I’m the first or second option. What you want is to play and be important. I’m still young and for that reason I understand. There are also many great forwards in the national team and a lot of competition,” he commented, admitting that in the locker room the focus is only on the short term.

“On a personal level, yes, I see myself on the World Cup list. I work every day for that. It’s a goal I set a long time ago, before I was a professional. I see it getting closer and closer, but I have to keep working and doing my best,” he said, showing himself “grateful” to Luis de la Fuente.

“I know there’s a lot of competition, but I always try to give my best to the group. For me, it will always be an honor to be able to come and contribute. I know that if the coach brings me, it’s because he sees I’m doing things well at the club [FC Porto], even though I’m playing in the Portuguese league,” he said.

The forward also revealed that the Spanish coach asks him to “not improvise” and to simply replicate what he does at FC Porto.

“The good players have to adapt to every context. But when I have more space, I feel more comfortable, because I can use my strongest points. Debut with the national team? Very happy and grateful for the opportunity the coach, the technical staff, and my teammates gave me. It was a dream I had since I was a child and I’m happy, because it was a win. It was a good game, although I wasn’t lucky enough to score,” he said.

Samu emphasized that he “learns a lot” from his teammates in the national team, praising Álvaro Morata’s experience. Faced with the possibility of Spain being favorites for the 2026 World Cup, he remained cautious.

“Those are things from the press and the people. But I think that playing with Spain right now commands respect. We are European champions and have gone many games without losing,” he said, also speaking about his friendship with Lamine Yamal.

“We know he’s a young man going through a lot at the same time. The situations between Barcelona and the national team don’t affect us. We’re focused. If he’s there, it’s better for us, because it makes us better,” he concluded.

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