Roberto Martínez explains Tomás Araújo's absence, Benfica teammate to blame | OneFootball

Roberto Martínez clarified the decision to leave out Tomas Araújo. Today, the national coach announced the chosen players for the upcoming commitments of the national team. In front of journalists, the Spanish coach emphasized the importance of Benfica's number 44 gaining playing time.

In the press conference, where he revealed the names of the 26 called-up players - including António Silva - Roberto Martínez was questioned about the absence of Tomás Araújo. "First, it's great news for us", the national coach started by saying, emphasizing that it's good news to have the defender available again.

Next, the Spanish coach stated that it is essential for the player to continue his trajectory with the team under José Mourinho's guidance: "Tomás has already made his debut for the National Team and it's very important that he continues to play in important matches".

"He is part of our pre-list, but in such a short period where we repeat opponents, we thought it made more sense to continue with António Silva", Roberto Martínez explained, clarifying his decision to leave the young Portuguese defender out of the chosen ones.

It should be noted that Portugal will play the last two qualifying matches for the World Cup, to be held next year. The first match will be against Ireland, and a few days later, the Portuguese team will play at Estádio do Dragão, hosting Armenia.

Tomás Araújo - valued at 32 million euros - has been regaining his starting status in recent matches. This season, the number 44 has played a total of 14 official matches: eight in Liga Portugal Betclic, three in the Champions League, one in the Portuguese Cup, one in the League Cup, and one in Liga Portugal Meu Super. In the 763 minutes he was on the pitch, the defender scored one goal.

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