Roberto Martínez names Portugal squad, familiar Benfica faces included | OneFootball

During the course of today, Roberto Martínez, Portugal's coach, was present at the City of Football, where he revealed the 23 names that will make up the national delegation for the 2026 World Cup qualification matches. Among the many familiar faces from Benfica, the highlight goes to the call-up of António Silva.

In an announcement made in the press room of the City of Football, Roberto Martínez, before revealing the names that will represent the national team, made a point of paying a heartfelt tribute to Diogo Jota, a Portuguese international who passed away last July, as did his brother, André Silva.

Thus, António Silva was called up to be part of the delegation that will face Armenia and Hungary, in what will be the first qualification matches for the World Cup, which will take place next year. The first duel will take place on September 6 and the match against the Hungarian team is scheduled for three days later, on September 9. Both games will be played outside of Portugal.

Preparing for the match with Alverca, António Silva knows that he will then head to the national team's training camp, where he will be joined by former Benfica players such as João Cancelo, Rúben Dias, João Neves, Bernardo Silva, João Félix, and Gonçalo Ramos.

Seen as one of the indispensable players for Bruno Lage, António Silva - valued at 32 million euros - is looking to earn more caps for Portugal. In the current season, the number 4 of Benfica has played six official matches: four in the Champions League qualification, one in the Liga Portugal Betclic and another in the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira. In the 540 minutes he has been on the field, he has not yet scored any goals or assists.

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