Tough calls, Roberto Martínez explains Benfica star's absence: part of... | OneFootball

On the afternoon of this Tuesday, May 19, Roberto Martínez revealed the 27 players who will represent Portugal at the World Cup, which will take place in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Among those called up is Tomás Araújo, while António Silva’s absence was noticeable, leading the national team coach to explain his decision to leave the Benfica defender out.

"António Silva? We have five centre-backs, we’ve worked with them and, in March, we needed to choose. We were expecting different opponents, and the choice fell on Tomás Araújo", explained Martínez when asked about some of the decisions regarding the World Cup squad.

"António is part of the group and, if there is an injury, he is the first centre-back to come in", the coach stressed, explaining that Benfica’s number 4 remains a valid option during the preparation camp if one of the first-choice players is unable to play.

"Gonçalo Guedes is the third because he is the player with the most flexibility: he can play out wide, through the middle, create space on the counter-attack… Paulinho, once again, can take on the profile of Cristiano and Gonçalo [Ramos], but here we need to have three forwards: two more positional and one more variable", Martínez added, detailing the national team’s attacking options.

In the 2025/26 season, playing for Benfica, António Silva – valued at €28 million – made 41 official appearances: 25 in Liga Portugal Betclic, 10 in the Champions League, four in the Portuguese Cup, one in the League Cup and one in the Super Cup. In the 3,118 minutes he was on the pitch, the defender scored one goal and provided one assist.

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