This Thursday, national team coach Roberto Martínez launched the match against Poland, scheduled for this Friday, at Estádio do Dragão, in the fifth round of group A1 of the Nations League.
Despite only needing a draw to guarantee qualification, Martínez is aiming for victory against the Poles, and does not believe that this game will be used to experiment. The Spanish coach admitted changes in strategy, due to absences, and once again commented on the issue of the players' full calendar.
Difficult week without Palhinha and Rúben Neves?: “I wouldn't say difficult, it was a week with a lot of good predisposition. I really liked the integration of the new players, which says a lot about the dressing room we have. I liked the new energy. It's a challenge for all of us. After the Euro Cup we lost Pepe and now Rúben Dias. It's a process to continue getting to know the players. We have all the players ready.”
Opportunity to try: “I don't like the word experiment. We're talking about the national team. We have the best players. There are a lot of players with injuries. I don't know why, in November, but it happens. They are players with different strengths. We want to have control of the game, get close to the goal and score goals. It will be a good internship for us to see more players, but not for 18 months.”
Tactics to adopt: “First, say that Poland is a team that takes risks and likes to play on the attack. All of Poland's games have four or more goals, which shows the personality of this team, which likes to take risks. What matters is the our synchronization, what we can show with the new players, who don't have as much experience. I hope we can continue to control the game and have opportunities.
High game load: “I've already talked about that. I have my opinion, which is very clear. The players like to play, the important thing is rest between seasons. The number of games is good. But it's time for everyone to show responsibility, I'm talking about the federations , from UEFA, from FIFA, from ECA. Players need to have a good rest between seasons. It is not a problem that has no solution. “
He spoke about Pepe and Rúben Dias, but not Inácio: “I'm talking about Rúben Dias because he is a player who has more than 50 caps or Pepe who is a historic player for the Seleção. We are talking about an aspect of leadership that is important for us. Inácio has a lot of quality, but he is a medical decision. He is not 100%, therefore he is not able to help the Selection.
Poland: “There are many players that I like in this Polish team. Zelewski is a player with incredible potential, he takes risks and is a player that the fans like a lot. Zielinski himself… but the strong point of the Polish team is the idea of play of its coach, a team that takes a lot of risks. Lewandowski is the captain, Poland's guiding light, but in this competition Poland has already used six different strikers. He's a player we follow because he played in tournaments with our youth teams, he was in the Premier League, but we have several players in that position, so it's difficult for him to get in.”
Objective in the League of Nations: “Now the objective is to reach the quarter-finals. It's a competition that I really like, a new competition, but it's important for the teams to compete in a league competition. I think there are no favorites in the final four. For now, we want to continue growing. It is a competition that really helps the selectors to add competitiveness to their groups and, therefore, there are no favorite teams at the moment.
Call from Samu Costa: “When we make the choice, we talk about 26 players. We had 30 players and we had to have a criteria. We wanted to use everyone. We didn't want to leave players from a second attacking line out. When Pote and Matheus Nunes are left out, Samu is a player who did a very good internship, I already said he would be a player of the future. He uses his left foot and it ends up being more natural for him to play in that position.”
Main dangers in Poland: “I think the coach has very clear ideas. It's a team that plays with a lot of width and has a lot of capacity. It has fast players in the final third and that's clearly a strong point of this team. It's a very young team that fits in very well in the coach's idea. This is the strong point.
Injuries lead to rethinking strategy?: “Yes, without a doubt. The strategy has to be changed according to the players we have. We have to adjust due to the strengths of our players. We have versatile players, who always look head on at the challenges that lie ahead”
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