ANTONIO COTRIM/EPA
The Portuguese Ruben Dias (L) and Bernardo Silva (R) participate in training at Cidade do Futebol in Oeiras.
The Prime Minister offered a bracelet with Diogo Jota’s name to the 27 chosen by Martínez that could be used within the four lines. First training in the USA was intense and had two scares.
The National Team players have already arrived in the USA, and they are not alone: as Roberto Martínez clarified when announcing the squad, there are 27… plus one.
The national team’s stars are using a bracelet offered by the prime minister Luís Montenegro before the World Cup, midfielder Vitinha confirmed at a press conference.
The PSG star explained that the Prime Minister’s gift was prepared to be used on the field and includes the names of all Portuguese internationals, as well as a special tribute to Diogo Jota, who tragically passed away last year in a car accident.
“When we met with the Prime Minister, he offered us this bracelet, he made sure we could use it on the field, it has all the specifics for us to be able to use it, with the names of all the players, plus Diogo Jota’s special name”, said Vitinha.
Montenegro “left it up to us whether we wanted to use it and how. We received it with great affection and chose to use them all”, explained the PSG player to journalists.
Activation on the sand of Palm Beach
Martínez’s men started the day this Saturday with a light activation session on the Palm Beach sand, part of the coaching staff’s preparation plan.
The images captured by Channel 11 and CNN Portugal showed several Portuguese internationals carrying out exercises in the water and walking along the sea.
The routine should be repeated in the coming days, with the aim of helping players adapt to local conditions and maintain physical levels during the corners training camp in the United States.
Two scares during intense training
The team began preparing for the 2026 World Cup in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, with training marked by intensity, according to him.
The training was marked by a scare involving Rafael Leao and the physical management of Ruben Diasone of the most important members of the quinas, who worked outside the group.
The first rehearsal on North American soil began at 6:45 pm local time, close to midnight in mainland Portugal. Despite the long transatlantic trip, Roberto Martínez did not opt for a light session: Portugal entered the field at a high pace just days before the debut against DR Congo, scheduled for Wednesday.
The moment of greatest concern came during a fight in a small space. Rafael Leão complained after a tougher tackle, forcing a brief intervention with the Milan winger. The move caused apprehension among the approximately 250 fans present and the more than one hundred journalists who followed the session. Leão ended up getting up, was quickly evaluated and returned to training without apparent physical limitations.
More relevant was the absence of Rúben Dias from collective exercises. The Manchester City defender was the only player who did not work as part of the groupcarrying out running and specific work on an adjacent lawn.
The option was presented as physical management: “nothing serious” is happening to the Seleção’s main central defenderconfirmed to the São Paulo Football Federation itself.
