Sporting alert: Martínez on Quenda’s World Cup call-up, possible ban | OneFootball

Roberto Martínez explained that he does not want to talk about the World Cup before the National Team secures qualification. The national coach presented this Friday, November 7, the squad list for the upcoming matches of the national team, and commented on the absence of Geovany Quenda, a player from Sporting – who has already received a response from Rui Borges.

"We can't talk about the World Cup because we still need to qualify. The focus is to have a group of players to reach the World Cup," Roberto Martínez began by explaining, admitting he does not want to discuss a possible call-up for the 2026 World Cup just yet.

The national coach continued, mentioning some names who are in line to be called up to the national team, including Sporting's star: "Then we have many players with qualities among the pre-selected, such as Rodrigo Mora, Mateus Fernandes, Quenda, João Simões, Félix Correia, Tomás Araújo. That is part of the competitiveness we have. But the focus now is qualifying. We are going to prohibit discussing and talking about the World Cup because we have to qualify first".

Later, Roberto Martínez was asked whether the group will become more restricted as the World Cup approaches: "It’s something to think about. In football, we need to create a competitive environment and make changes when we need to. The team is competing very well. I think the qualification in September was exemplary and now we need to create competitiveness to work for the future. We have players who are committed, in great moments in their careers, and then we have others who are knocking on the door and working very well with the under-21s".

"Even without three or four important players, as in October, the team continues to compete. Every year, talented players emerge in Portuguese football who can add quality to the national team’s locker room. But for that, you need a reason to make changes. Now it is important to work and continue to improve concepts. It is important to be at your best level in the game when there are only two or three training sessions to prepare for a match", concluded Roberto Martínez.

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