“He’s going to stutter step for 45 mins” - Fans furious with Portugal star being part of line-up alongside Cristiano Ronaldo for Ireland clash

Portugal fans on social media are furious with manager Roberto Martinez's decision to start Bernardo Silva alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Pedro Neto. They believe that the Manchester City star is not good enough to start on the right wing, and he should have been on the bench.

Martinez has gone with Diogo Costa as his goalkeeper, with Diogo Dalot and Nuno Mendes as the full-backs. He has picked Goncalo Inacio and Ruben Dias as the center-backs this evening against the Republic of Ireland.

Vitinha is in the pivot with Bruno Fernandes and Ruben Neves as his midfield partners. Pedro Neto and Cristiano Ronaldo lead the attack, with Bernardo Silva as the only questionable choice, according to a large section of the fans on X (formerly Twitter). They posted:

Roberto Martinez spoke ahead of the game and was not interested in thinking about the FIFA World Cup next year. He wants to take things step by step and said that his main focus was on qualifying. He said (via The Sun):

“The national team’s focus is on trying to qualify. We continue step by step. The training camp in September was very good, but we can’t lose what we did in September. Our focus is on trying to be at the best level against Ireland.”

Portugal have won both their FIFA World Cup qualifiers so far, and have one more line-up next week when they face Hungary.

Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal need to win the FIFA World Cup, claims Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho spoke about Portugal earlier this week, claiming that they needed to win the FIFA World Cup next year. He added that the Cristiano Ronaldo-led squad have the right players and said (via The Sun):

"Looking at what is now most obvious, which is the composition of the National team, we are talking about players who play for the biggest Portuguese clubs and also in the best European leagues. The prestige is extremely high and accumulates." "We can always talk about the pioneers, the first players and coaches to emerge, but so many years have passed that now it's a matter of accumulating talent. The FPF is creating all the conditions so that Portugal can have the conditions we have today. In a World Cup year, to say that we don't have the ambition to be world champions is almost heresy."

Cristiano Ronaldo has started in all FIFA World Cup qualifiers so far and is in line to play at the tournament next summer if they seal qualification.

Edited by Sripad