Nehuén Pérez aims for World Cup spot with Argentina 🇦🇷 | OneFootball

Who would have thought. Nehuén Pérez, just as he promised at the end of last season, reappeared transformed in 2025/26 and, after four matches, has already convinced FC Porto fans that the 17 million euros invested were not, after all, a bad deal. The central defender was the initial choice of Francesco Farioli and has met expectations, establishing himself as one of the pillars of a team that has won all its games and conceded only one goal.

Nehuén Pérez's goal now is to maintain this level throughout the season, to help FC Porto win titles and, at the same time, strengthen his chances of joining the Argentine national team for the 2026 World Cup, where he hopes to contribute to defending the 2022 title. Although he was not called up in Lionel Scaloni's recent selections, the player knows he remains on the coach's radar and that, by maintaining the pace of this season's start, he will have every chance of being included in the squad for the tournament in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

According to the Portal dos Dragões, Pérez is currently fully focused on FC Porto and on consolidating his place in Farioli's starting eleven. The competition has intensified, especially with the arrival of Kiwior, but this serves as motivation for the Argentine. At 25 years old, he feels benefited by the tactical system preferred by the Italian coach, which he considers most suited to his characteristics. Pérez's numbers are significantly superior to those of 2024/25 – more assertive and taking greater risks in passing, more effective in tackles, and more dominant in aerial duels. The sample is small, but the improvement compared to the previous season, considered disastrous, is evident.

Finally, one of the player's goals is to improve discipline: in 2024/25 he accumulated 17 yellow cards in 39 games for FC Porto. At the start of this season, he has kept a clean sheet, which could also open up more playing opportunities for him.

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