António Silva smiling, but Benfica not to blame | OneFootball

Breaking news: António Silva - who has reported some complaints - has been called up by Roberto Martínez for Portugal's commitments in the qualification phase for the 2026 World Cup. The Benfica centre-back, who has been going through some tough times, thus has reasons to celebrate.

Notably absent is Tomás Araújo, who, unlike António Silva, did not earn the trust of Roberto Martínez. Highlighting the presence of six other players who were trained at Benfica: Nélson Semedo, Rúben Dias, João Neves, Bernardo Silva, João Félix, and Gonçalo Ramos.

Portugal, led by Roberto Martínez, will face the Republic of Ireland on October 11 at 19:45, and Hungary on October 14, also at 19:45. The two matches, which will be played at the José Alvalade Stadium, are part of the qualification for the 2026 World Cup.

After two rounds, Portugal is in first place in Group F, with six points. Armenia is in second place, with three points, while Hungary and the Republic of Ireland are in penultimate and last place, respectively, with one point. The top-ranked team automatically qualifies for the World Cup.

In the current season, wearing the Benfica jersey, António Silva - valued at 32 million euros - has played 13 matches: six in the Liga Portugal Betclic, six in the Champions League and one in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira. In the 1,075 minutes he was on the pitch, the centre-back performed well.

Check out Roberto Martínez's call-up for Portugal's matches against Hungary and the Republic of Ireland:

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