Pinotes Batista on Sporting target's Portugal snub: No good reasons | OneFootball

Roberto Martínez announced this Tuesday, at the City of Football in Oeiras, Portugal’s squad for the 2026 World Cup. Pote and João Palhinha were left out of the list and, according to André Pinotes Batista, in the case of the Bayern Munich midfielder, on loan to Tottenham, there are no good reasons for the decision.

"António Silva, Pedro Gonçalves, Ricardo Horta, Rodrigo Mora, Quenda, Mateus Fernandes and João Palhinha will have received, this morning, a courtesy call from the national team coach. In the case of Bayern Munich’s holding midfielder, beyond nice words, one can imagine that the conversation about his absence did not involve good reasons, for the simple fact that they do not exist", he said in his opinion piece for the newspaper Record.

The PS deputy, despite some controversial absences, believes that Roberto Martínez did a good job. "Everyone has the right to freely express and share their thoughts and each of us is endowed with critical judgment and personal taste. Even so, in a social climate of permanent emotional exaltation, it is important to write the glaringly obvious: Roberto Martínez’s squad selection is, overall, balanced and coherent", he stressed.

In the fight for a place in Portugal’s midfield, they show an evenly matched duel between the two defensive midfielders.

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