Jesus: I prefer two strikers over a third midfielder; Fabio has different characteristics

Portugal national team coach Jorge Jesus announced his first squad since taking charge and held a press conference. This article covers the opening remarks from that press conference.

You have four new faces in your squad. I'd like to ask why you selected Samuel Soares, Nuno Tavares, João Palhinha, and Fabio Silva? What can they bring to the team? Furthermore, can their inclusion help us see your imprint on Portugal's national team from these first matches?

Actually, those are two questions. First, among these four players, only Fabio Silva hasn't worked with me before. The other three have all worked with me—Samuel, João Palhinha, and Nuno Tavares are my players. They know me, and I know them.

Additionally, except for João, the other three are all just over twenty years old. That means by 2030, they will not yet be thirty. Therefore, they are both current and future players for us. Of course, the most important factor is their current form at their respective clubs.

When you took office, you said Portugal under your leadership would be very different from Roberto Martínez's era. So I'd like to ask, tactically speaking, do you prefer a 4-4-2 formation with a player behind the striker responsible for linking play and supporting the center forward, as you typically did in your previous coaching roles? Also, regarding Ronaldo, he's in this squad, and previously he stated this could be the final year of his career. Do you hope he can participate in the UEFA Nations League final—of course, we all hope Portugal can progress through the qualifying rounds—or do you have longer-term plans for him?

Of course, that's my idea. Every coach has their own football philosophy, and naturally, I have my own way of wanting Portugal's national team to play. I believe in the quality of these players, and I believe in the work we've done over many years coaching at various clubs.

The player you just mentioned operating behind the center forward is essentially a second striker. According to my football philosophy, generally speaking, I prefer to have an extra second striker rather than an additional third midfielder. So beyond João Félix, I've also called up other players who can play this role, such as Bruno Fernandes, Trincão, and Rafael Leão.

A coach must first understand the characteristics of his players, then adjust them to fit his football philosophy based on those characteristics. That's what a coach should do.

Regarding Ronaldo, my approach to him is simple. Since he's in the squad, he's available. All players in this squad are available to me, which means they can all play. You might ask the obvious follow-up: why only call up 25 players? Why not 30? Why not call up 42 or 44 players like some of my colleagues?

We will have a match every three days. For us coaches, this is a common situation in our careers. So the squad will certainly change, but those adjustments will have to wait until after matches.

Because only then will we know the physical condition of the players, and then make decisions based on each match. We'll play a total of four matches, essentially 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 still want to ask about this squad. With four matches coming up in this window with very high intensity, have you ever considered calling up 44 players at once, as Klopp did with the German national team? Have you ever had such an idea? Also, still about Ronaldo. I'd like to ask, do you think you might see him celebrating his 1,000th career goal in a UEFA Nations League final that you're coaching?

I don't want to comment too much on what my colleague Klopp did. That was his idea. In fact, all coaches prepare a preliminary squad list first, and ours has a total of 46 players. But for this initial phase, I've called up 25.

My idea is completely different from his. Calling up 44 players at once—in fact, at this UEFA Nations League stage, he's the only one doing it—doesn't make sense to me. Because these players regularly play in club matches, essentially every three days. I don't know if any of them will get injured.

If someone does get injured, won't the squad have to be adjusted then anyway? So for me, this makes no sense at all.

As for Ronaldo, I don't know. But I believe his 1,000th goal is more likely to come at Al Nassr than for Portugal's national team.

Antonio Silva wasn't selected this time. He was previously a starter at Benfica, and now he's moved to England and is also a starter there. What is he missing to make your national team selection? Also, regarding Fabio Silva, he's a new face in this squad. Have you been following his form? He's really performed well at Dortmund. Was it specifically those performances at Dortmund that led to him being called up to Portugal's national team this time?

There are a few factors here, but let me start with Antonio. As you see, I've only called up four center backs. Antonio could certainly be one of these four, but ultimately I decided to stick with the four I currently have.

Among 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 ultimately I decided to continue with two other players who've been in the national team before.

For the forwards, Fabio Silva has certain characteristics that differ from the other strikers. For example, Gonçalo Ramos and Ronaldo aren't the type of strikers who are particularly good at attacking the last line of defense and creating depth through off-the-ball runs.

What I'm saying might be a bit technical, and you might not understand immediately. There are two other forwards who could have been selected—André Silva and Gonçalo. But compared to them, Fabio's characteristics are completely different. Also, he's only 24 years old.