For the private matches with Sweden and Slovenia, the Spanish coach expanded the squad to a very large number – he already had to drop the injured Raphaël Guerreiro and Francisco Trincão, calling on Dany Mota -, but Martínez’s ideas are unlikely to be changed.
In addition to Mota, Francisco Conceição and Jota Silva will also have the opportunity to prove themselves to the national coach for the first time, while Diogo Leite, Nelson Semedo, Matheus Nunes and Bruma will still have some hope of being able to participate in the tournament that will take place during the summer in Germany.
Criticized during qualifying, which was completely victorious, for having built a hard core early and, later, for having called up João Cancelo and João Félix after they had been without competition for almost three months, Martínez opened the doors of the selection now in March, but this stage promises to have little effect on the final choices for Euro2024.
For now, the 24 finalist teams will have to choose a maximum of 23 players for the final squad, but this number could increase in April, with UEFA evaluating a possible 25 or even 26.
In goal, Diogo Costapublicly named by Roberto Martínez as owner of the Portuguese goal, Rui Patriciorecord holder for internationalizations in this sector, and José Sá These are clearly the Spanish coach’s choices.
In defense, António Silva, Danilo, Gonçalo Inácio, Pepe, Rúben Dias and Toti Gomes They also have everything to start packing their bags for Germany, although, if UEFA keeps the 23, Toti Gomes could be disappointed or even Pepe, who, at 41, missed practically the entire qualification due to physical limitations.
In the wings, João Cancelo, Diogo Dalot, Nuno Mendes and Raphaël Guerreiro also seem to have fight right, with Nelson Semedo to be able to appear if Mendes or Guerreiro continue with recurring physical problems.
Bruno Fernandes, João Palhinha, João Neves, Otávio, Rúben Neves, Vitinha and Bernardo Silva are unquestionable names in midfield by Martínez, with Matheus Nunes in the pipeline in case of any last-minute casualties.
Ahead, Cristiano Ronaldo, João Félix, Rafael Leão and Diogo Jota will only miss Euro2024 if something unexpected happens, with Gonçalo Ramos and Ricardo Horta also practically guaranteed, although the maintenance of the 23 called up could complicate the accounts.
What’s ahead
The national team hosts Sweden, which failed to qualify, on Thursday, at the D. Afonso Henriques Stadium, in Guimarães, and five days later, on March 26, it will go to Ljubljana to play with the Slovenes, who will be at Euro2024 .
Portugal will also have three other preparatory matches before participating in this year’s European Championship, all on Portuguese soil, with Finland, at the José Alvalade Stadium, Croatia, at the National Stadium, and the Republic of Ireland, in Aveiro, on 4, 8 and June 11th, respectively.
The quinas team is part of Group F of Euro2024, in which they will face Turkey, the Czech Republic and the winner of path C of the play-offs (Georgia, Luxembourg, Greece or Kazakhstan), which will be announced this month.
The European debut is scheduled for June 18th, with the Czechs, in Leipzig, followed by duels with the Turks, on June 22nd, in Dortmund, and with the opponent leaving the play-off, on June 26th. , in Gelsenkirchen.
The 2024 European Championship will take place in Germany, between June 14th and July 14th.
