‘The atmosphere will be a challenge’ – Roberto Martinez names Portugal squad for ‘difficult’ Ireland clash
Martinez has named a 26-man squad for the double-header away to Ireland and at home to Armenia, with much of the attention back home focusing on a call-up for Carlos Forbs, the former U-21 cap who has impressed Martinez with his form in Belgium with Club Brugge, with squad issues for Martinez as Nuno Mendes and Nuno Tavares are injured.Ireland will know the result of next Thursday’s 5pm game between Hungary and Armenia when they kick-off at home to Portugal, so Heimir Hallgrimsson’s side will be aware of what’s needed.Martinez left Dublin unbeaten on his only game here as coach, with Belgium, but he senses that the sold-out Dublin crowd could be an issue.“Ireland needs to win and the atmosphere we’re going to find will also be a challenge,” he said after naming his squad today.“It’s important to remember that November is always a difficult stage for Portugal, I don’t know why, but it’s always a difficult period.“Even so, our focus is on qualifying for the World Cup – the ninth in Portugal's history.“Then, we have to think about improving. I think we played a good game against Hungary, but we want to improve on the last 20 minutes of that match and learn to control the game better. Now, we want to win both games and then think about the future.“In the September training camp we got six points and four in October, which was very good, but we need to do more in these two games,” he added.Portugal squadGoalkeepers: Diogo Costa (FC Porto), Rui Silva (Sporting), José Sá (Wolves).Defenders: Diogo Dalot (Manchester U), Nélson Semedo (Fenerbahçe), João Cancelo (Al Hilal), Matheus Nunes, Rúben Dias (Manchester C), Gonçalo Inácio (Sporting), António Silva (Benfica), Renato Veiga (Villarreal).Midfielders: João Palhinha (Tottenham), Rúben Neves (Al Hilal), João Neves, Vitinha (PSG), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester U), Pedro Gonçalves (Sporting), Bernardo Silva (Manchester C).Forwards: João Félix (Al Nassr), Francisco Trincão (Sporting), Francisco Conceição (Juventus), Pedro Neto (Chelsea), Rafael Leão (Milan), Gonçalo Ramos (PSG), Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr), Carlos Forbs (Club Brugge).
