At the press conference after the defeat imposed on Sweden (5-2), in Guimarães, Martínez said that Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Rúben Dias, as well as Gonçalo Ramos, Rafael Leão, João Palhinha, Nélson Semedo and Toti Gomes will not play in the next game.
“It is important to work on different concepts, especially because Slovenia has a very similar structure to today’s opponent. There are eight players who leave and another eight players who also arrive at a high level for the second game, with hunger and a lot of energy”, said Roberto Martínez.
Diogo Dalot, João Cancelo, Danilo Pereira, Otávio, Rúben Neves, Vitinha, João Félix and captain Cristiano Ronaldo join the training camp at the start of preparations for the match against Slovenia, which will be on Saturday, at Cidade do Futebol, in Oeiras, as the national team has a day off on Friday.
Roberto Martínez called up a total of 32 players for the March games – however reduced to 31 with the departure of Guerreiro and Trincão, injured, and the entry of Dany Mota -, but he immediately explained that he would divide the squad into three groups, with one group available at every stage.
Portugal will also have three other preparation 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 04, 08 and June 11th, respectively.
The 2024 European Championship will take place in Germany, between June 14th and July 14th.