Eyeing the World Cup, Emiliano Martínez gains ground at Palmeiras | OneFootball

While waiting to be called up to the Uruguay national team, midfielder Emiliano Martínez has regained space at Palmeiras. A starter in the defeat to Cerro Porteño in the Libertadores, the Uruguayan was praised by coach Abel Ferreira after the match, despite the negative result at Allianz Parque.

The choice drew attention because Abel had all the players in the position available. Emi returned to the team by technical decision and played alongside Marlon Freitas and Andreas Pereira, a setup that gave Andreas more freedom to join the attack.

Starter against Flamengo too?

With his performance, Emiliano could remain in the starting lineup for the clash against Flamengo this Saturday (23) at 9 p.m. (Brasília time), in the Brazilian Championship.

This will be the midfielder’s last match before coach Marcelo Bielsa names the 26 players for the World Cup. During the last FIFA international window, in March, Emi was among the 28 players selected for the friendly matches.

At the World Cup, Uruguay are in Group H alongside Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde and Spain. The South American side will make their tournament debut on the 15th against the Saudis in Miami.

Second season at Palmeiras

Signed in February 2025, Emiliano Martínez was one of Palmeiras’ 12 signings that season. Initially, he arrived to compete for a place with Aníbal Moreno and Richard Ríos. Later, the position became even more competitive with the arrivals of Lucas Evangelista and Andreas Pereira.

Even after the departures of Richard Ríos and Aníbal Moreno, the Uruguayan did not get the run of games that was expected. With the signing of Marlon Freitas, he once again became a bench option while Marlon and Andreas established themselves as the first-choice duo.

The player ended 2025 at a very low point. In the Libertadores final, Abel Ferreira overlooked Emiliano and Aníbal and instead started center-back Bruno Fuchs out of position as a defensive midfielder.

In 2026, Emi has made only 15 appearances, seven of them as a starter. In 2025, he played 48 matches and scored one goal for Verdão.

Before joining Palmeiras, the 25-year-old midfielder had a spell at Red Bull Bragantino in 2021 and was playing for Denmark’s Midtjylland. His contract with the São Paulo club runs until December 2029.

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