Roberto Martínez Anticipates Tough Challenge Against Chile, Citing Team's Flexibility

Portugal's coach Roberto Martínez has previewed a demanding friendly encounter against Chile, highlighting the work of Nicolás Córdova. Martínez expressed admiration for Córdova's "interesting ideas of positional play" and described the Chilean team as possessing "flexibility" that will "demand a lot" from his squad. He characterized the Roja as a "very well-worked" team with "very clear ideas."

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Chile is a selection new. I think that the profe Nicolás Córdova is doing a very interesting job. I love his ideas of positional play. It is a team that has a lot of flexibility and that is going to demand a lot from us.

Martínez views the match as a crucial preparation step for Portugal's World Cup 2026 campaign, where they are grouped with Uzbekistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. For Chile, he suggested the game serves as preparation for the team's future. "For us it is a preparation match for the World Cup; for Chile, I think it is a match to prepare for the future of this selection, and that makes it a very competitive match," Martínez stated.

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For us it is a preparation match for the World Cup; for Chile, I think it is a match to prepare for the future of this selection, and that makes it a very competitive match.

The Portuguese coach also drew a connection to Chilean football by recalling Jean Beausejour, whom he managed at Wigan. "He was an incredible player. A born winner," Martínez said, adding that discussing Chilean footballers inevitably brings Beausejour to mind. Following their match against Chile, Portugal is scheduled to play Nigeria before heading to the World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

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He was an incredible player. A born winner. Talking about the Chilean footballer is talking about Jean Beausejour.