AHe announced Fernando Santos’ successor at the helm of the Quinas team in January and two months later, the 49-year-old coach will present his first options in a list he himself has already made clear it is him depends on participation in the last World Cup, which took place in Qatar at the end of last year.
However, some surprises promise to happen in Martinez’s list, with Cristiano Ronaldo still at the top of the doubts, although everything indicates that the captain is continuing his “corners” on his chest.
And the 38-year-old forward lost his place at the last World Cup, making him unhappy with the situation, and gave up top-flight football when it went to Saudi Arabia.
After announcing he won’t be able to represent the national team even under Fernando Santos, Rafael may change his decision to sign Roberto Martinez at a time when he’s enjoying one of the best seasons of his career at Benfica.
Pepe, 40 and injured at Porto, also appears in a list with one of the doubts that may have the return of Diogo Jota, who missed the 2022 World Cup through injury.
The selection of the new coach will be announced at a press conference at 12:30pm at the Cidade do Futebol in Oeiras.
In Group J’s first appearance in the European Nations Cup 2024 qualifiers, to be played in Germany, Portugal will meet Liechtenstein at the Jose Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon on March 23 and play in Luxembourg three days later.
The group also includes Iceland, Slovakia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Roberto Martinez was chosen by the Portuguese Football Federation to replace Fernando Santos, who resigned his post after the World Cup in Qatar, where the national team reached the quarter-finals.
Santos has been in charge of the team since 2014 after they won Euro2016 and the first edition of the Liga nas Nações in 2019.
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