Roberto Martínez has released the list of players called up for the Nations League for Portugal’s matches against Croatia and Scotland. With António Silva in the squad, the National Coach explained the reasons for calling up the Benfica centre-back, comparing him to Tomás Araújo and…Eduardo Quaresma.
“It’s important to consider that we’ve already lost Danilo, we’ve definitely lost Pepe, who was a reference and leaves an incredible legacy, and I think António Silva is on a different level to Tomás Araújo or Eduardo Quaresma. Because he has experience from the European Championship, he has experience from the World Cup, he’s a young player, there aren’t many young players who have the experience he has at his age.”
“António Silva is on a different level than Tomás Araújo or Eduardo Quaresma”
Roberto Martínez went further and defended the number 4 jersey of the reds, highlighting the talent of the Portuguese international: “He had a bad game against Georgia, but he had a good game against Ireland and talent is forever. There are good moments and bad moments, but I really believe in António Silva’s potential and he will be important in the games we have next week”.
Remember that Antonio Silva was at the center of criticism during Euro 2024, in Germany, after having been negatively involved in the two moves that gave Georgia two goals in the group stage match.
This season, wearing the Benfica jersey, Antonio Silva – valued at 45 million euros – has one duel, without any goals or assists. In 23/24, the defender was present in 50 matches: 30 in the National Championship, six in the Europa League, six in the Portuguese Cup, four in the Champions League, three in the League Cup and one in the Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup. In the 4,363 minutes he was on the pitch, the central defender scored two goals.
In total, António Silva has played 94 matches for Benfica’s first team, scoring goals on seven occasions. With the Sacred Mantle, the Portuguese international won a National Championship (2022/23) and a Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup.
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