Martínez hails Costa and Mora: "A special player, much improved" | OneFootball

Roberto Martínez made an appearance this Friday on the program 'Futebol Total' on Canal 11 and spoke about the national team, which will compete in the 2026 World Cup, organized by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

The coach revealed that he is following a list of 55 players throughout this season and discussed the development of young players Geovany Quenda (Sporting) and Rodrigo Mora (FC Porto).

“Our training is one of the best in Europe. I like to give opportunities to new players, the most difficult part is the moment of the call-up. When they are within the scope of the National Team, it is very difficult for the player. There is an aspect of adaptation. Rodrigo Mora was part of the final list for the Nations League. He is a very special player. He has grown a lot, he needs to take advantage of the experience. Quenda has incredible potential. I don't regret not playing him in the game against Croatia. If I am looking at a player individually, I am not doing my job, I need to be neutral. In that game, we had the injury of Tomás Araújo, the idea was for Quenda and Fábio Silva to play. One thing is the plan, but the game was difficult. The results are important. It went badly from Geovany's point of view. Criticism is part of our job, but I don't like the perception that the coach doesn't follow Sporting's players. They have fantastic players. Sporting and PSG are the teams with the most call-ups. It is unfair to talk about a perception that is not correct. I hope Sporting fans know that this is a lie,” said the Spanish coach, once again praising Rodrigo Mora:

“We had him during June, in the final preparation phase for the Nations League. For us, he is a 10, who can play between the lines at a top level. There aren't many players who can accelerate to reach the area and then have the level of execution. That is an incredible asset. I prefer to play Mora outside the central corridor. He is very unpredictable. At FC Porto, the 4x3x3 doesn't have a position 10. Rodrigo for us is a special player, what he did last season demonstrates his personality, which is incredible. I also speak of João Simões (Sporting), who showed personality against Bayern. He needs to continue his growth. The training in Portugal is very good and we need to have patience and protect the players. Quenda, Rodrigo, and João Simões are on the list of 55 players,” he assured.

On the right flank, Alberto Costa (FC Porto) caught the coach's attention, who praised his development and recent performance before adding:

“I was surprised when I saw him for Vitória SC at Estádio da Luz. He improved a lot in defensive aspects at Juventus, he was one of the best players in the Club World Cup in the first two games. He started the season very well with FC Porto. In the right-back position, we have Dalot, Nélson Semedo, João Cancelo, and Matheus Nunes, who has the versatility to play in other positions. To reach the National Team, it's not just what you do, but when the window opens,” completed Roberto Martínez.

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