This Thursday against Sweden, you will not see Cristiano Ronaldo in the ranks of the Seleção. You won't see Joao Felix, Joao Cancelo, Vitinha or even Danilo Pereira either. Has Roberto Martinez started a late revolution with the team he led a year ago? no. The Catalan coach has come up with something for this pool: he has selected a group of thirty-two players but about half of them will be exempt from part of the pool. Eight will not take part in the friendly match against Sweden: the five mentioned above, plus Diogo Dalot, Ruben Neves and Otavio. This weekend should be a crossing as another group must be excluded from the second meeting of this truce on Tuesday in Slovenia.
“March is a very difficult time for playersMartinez was justified last week. There are a lot of games and mental fatigue and we have to manage that aspect. There are three groups: players who can participate in both matches, then one group for the first match and another for the second. It's about the minutes played, the condition of each player, what they did during the qualifiers, and it also depends on what we want to work on tactically. The goal is to prioritize quality and have the opportunity to avoid fatigue. »
“It is very positive. Personally, this helps me because the season is exhausting, and we are fighting in all competitions.”
The executives present on Thursday evening seemed to appreciate the idea, such as Bruno Fernandes: He added: “Al-Sayed spoke with many players and explained this choice to them, and we are at a stage of the season where there are many matches to play.” It's very smart of him to try to manage the group, because there's a risk of injury. » Another Seleção leader, Bernardo Silva, agrees: “It's very positive. Personally, this helps me because the season is exhausting, and we are suffering in all competitions. It's good to have a few days to relax and forget about football. To have all our energy and not be mentally exhausted when the Euros arrive. I'm sure this will help us a lot.” To go to the euro in the best conditions. »
Given his speech, there is a high probability that the citizen will leave the assembly at the end of the week, even if the names have not been announced yet. Those who only participate in part of the rally seem not to be concerned about their presence in Germany. Martinez, who opened up his group a bit during qualifying, already knows who will make the trip anyway, with two or three exceptions.
