Martínez on Inácio: Sporting defender subbed at half-time | OneFootball

Portugal lost to the Republic of Ireland, 2-0, in a match played last Thursday, December 13th, which ended up postponing the National Team's qualification for the 2026 World Cup. At the end of the match, Roberto Martínez justified the substitution of Gonçalo Inácio - a Sporting player - at halftime, as well as João Cancelo, for the inclusion of Renato Veiga and Nélson Semedo.

"We need time to build a connection between our players. Cancelo already had a yellow card, we didn't want to take risks, and then, with Renato Veiga, we've done this many times, betting on the physical aspect of a player for 45 minutes", he began to explain.

Martínez then highlighted the need for solutions, addressing the absence of Raphael Guerreiro despite Nuno Mendes' injury: "We need to look for solutions to prepare for matches every three days, so we use the versatile players we have. This wasn't part of the defeat, the defeat happened due to a performance that wasn't at our normal level".

With this result, the National Team once again postpones the qualification for the 2026 World Cup. The team will be back on the field next Sunday, November 16th, against Armenia. In that match, Roberto Martínez's team only needs a draw to confirm their presence in the next World Cup.

In this start of the 2025/26 sports season, Gonçalo Inácio - valued at 45 million euros - is one of the pillars of Sporting. The green and white central defender has already accumulated 1,440 minutes in 16 games, in which he has managed to make two assists for goals.

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