Portugal national team manager Jorge Jesus announced his first squad since taking office and held a press conference. This is the first part of the press conference.

There are four new faces in your squad. I'd like to know why you chose Samuel Soares, Nuno Tavares, João Palhinha, and Fabio Silva. What can they bring to the team? Furthermore, will their inclusion help us see your imprint on this Portuguese squad from these first matches?

Actually, that's two questions. First, of these four, only Fabio Silva has never worked with me before. The other three have all worked with me; Samuel, João Palhinha, and Nuno Tavares were all my players. So they know me, and I know them.

Furthermore, with the exception of João, the other three are all only in their twenties. This means that by 2030, they won't even be 30 yet. Therefore, they are both current and future players. Of course, the most important point is their current performance at their respective clubs.

When you took office, you stated that the Portuguese team you would manage would be very different from the Roberto Martinez era. I'd like to ask you, from a tactical perspective, if you'll favor the 4-4-2, with a player behind the striker responsible for linking play and supporting the center-forward, as you often did in your past coaching roles? Also, regarding Ronaldo, he has been included in this squad, and he previously stated that this year could be the last of his career. Do you hope he can participate in the final four of the Nations League – of course, we all hope Portugal can qualify – or do you have a longer-term plan for him?

Of course, that's my idea. Every manager has his own philosophy of play, and I certainly have my own way of how I want the Portuguese national team to play. I believe in the strength of these players, and I believe in the work we've done over the years coaching different clubs.

The player you just mentioned who operates behind the center-forward is actually a second striker. According to my philosophy of play, generally I prefer to have one more second striker rather than one more third midfielder. So, in addition to João Félix, I've also called up several other players who can play in this position, such as Bruno Fernandes, Trincão, and Rafael Leão.

First, a manager must understand the characteristics of the players, and then, based on those characteristics, adapt them to his own philosophy of play. That's what a manager must do.

As for Ronaldo, my idea for him is very simple. Since he is in the squad, he is there. All the players in the squad are now at my disposal, which means they can all play. I know you might ask next: why call up only 25 players? Why not 30? Why not call up 42 or 44 players at once, like my colleagues?

Then we'll play a match every three days. For managers like us, this is a common situation in our careers. So the squad will certainly change, but these adjustments will have to wait until after the matches.

Because only then will we be able to know the physical condition of the players, and then make decisions based on each match. We have a total of four matches to play, and they're basically one every three days. So we'll make decisions match by match, based on each player's physical condition at each specific moment.

Following up on your previous answer, I'd like to ask more questions about this squad. Given that there are four matches to play during this period, and the intensity is very high, have you considered calling up 44 players at once, as Klopp did for the German national team? Have you had such a thought?

I don't want to say too much about what my colleague Klopp did. That's his idea. Actually, all managers first establish an initial list, and our initial list has 46 players. But in this first phase, I called up 25 players.

My idea is completely different from his. Calling up 44 players at once – in fact, at this stage of the Nations League, he's the only one doing it – makes no sense to me. Because these players also play for their clubs, practically every three days. I don't know if someone will get injured.

If someone gets injured, won't the list need to be adjusted anyway? So for me, it makes no sense at all.

As for Ronaldo, I don't know. But I believe his 1000th career goal is more likely to be scored for Al Nassr than for the Portuguese national team.

Antonio Silva wasn't selected this time. He was previously a regular starter at Benfica, and now he's in England, also playing as a starter. What is he still missing to be included in the players of the national team that you've selected? Also, regarding Fabio Silva, he's a new face in this squad. Have you been following his performances? He has indeed performed very well at Borussia Dortmund. Is it precisely his performances at Borussia Dortmund that led to his inclusion in the Portuguese national team this time?

There are several factors here, but let's start with Antonio. As you can see, I've called up only four center-backs. Antonio could certainly be one of these four, but I ultimately chose to continue with the four center-backs currently in the squad.

Of these four, two have worked with me before, which is very important to me: Tomás Araújo and Rúben Dias. The other two will work with me for the first time.

Antonio could certainly be one of them, but I ultimately decided to continue with the other two players who were previously in the national team.

As for strikers, Fabio Silva has different characteristics from the other strikers. For example, Gonçalo Ramos, including Ronaldo, are not the type of strikers particularly good at attacking the last line of defense and creating offensive depth through runs.

I may be speaking a bit too technically, and you might not understand immediately. There are also two other strikers who could have been selected: André Silva and Gonçalo. But compared to them, Fabio's characteristics are completely different. Plus, he's only 24 years old.

So he could even be a direct starter?

All the players in the squad have the potential to be starters.

Traduit par IA.

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