Paulinho on Portugal call-up: I was gutted, but now... | OneFootball

Toluca was unable to follow up their 4-0 thrashing of San Diego, which secured their qualification for the CONCACAF Champions League quarter-finals, and drew 1-1 away at Pachuca in the early hours between Sunday and Monday.

Paulinho's team took the lead just before halftime through Franco Romero, but allowed the equalizer in the 72nd minute, when Elías Montiel beat Hugo González. On Pachuca’s side, William Carvalho was once again left out of Esteban Solari’s options due to a muscle injury that has kept him sidelined since November 2025.

Now comes the break for international commitments. Toluca returns on April 6, against Querétaro at Estadio La Corregidora, while Pachuca visits Cruz Azul at Estadio Azteca a day earlier. Paulinho, who had seven goals and three assists in his previous nine games, started under António Mohamed, and at the end he was asked about his last-minute call-up to the National Team.

"After the game, I was really disgusted because we didn't win, but now I'm happy. It's a dream. Any player wants to play for their national team, and even more so for me, because it's not normal for Portugal, with the level it has, to call up a player who is on a very distant continent," he said.

"If I'm there, it's because I really deserve it, because it's different to be called up in Europe and to be called up here. It's deserved. Obviously, there are more players who could have been called up, but yes, it's deserved," he added, expressing his ambition to make the final squad for the World Cup.

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