Roberto Martínez Delivers Good News: “The Word 'Substitute' No Longer Exists”

National coach Roberto Martínez confirmed that all 26 players will be available for the final training session before their clash with Colombia, a crucial match in the third and final round of the 2026 World Cup group stage.

“The idea is to have all players ready. We're at a point where the team can make two or three substitutions at halftime and maintain the same tactical level and technical quality. That's the strength of our squad. In our team, the word 'substitute' no longer exists. Players are prepared whether they start or come off the bench to make a difference. We'll assess their condition, but I can say that all of them are fit for training, which is important. We need to be ourselves in a different environment and against a different team tomorrow,” he commented during the press conference, addressing the match preparations.

“We've already had 13 training sessions in Miami to adapt to the climate. The plan before the World Cup was to stay in Miami to prepare for the game against Colombia because the matches in Houston, in an enclosed stadium with different turf, required different preparation, and we've done that for tomorrow's game. The players are physically prepared and ready to play on this turf, which is different from what we play on in Europe. It's the opposite. If there's one game we've had time to prepare for, it's this one. As for the storms, we want to react well. Not being on the training pitch doesn't mean we're not preparing. I'm very happy with all the conditions. We didn't start preparing for this game after the second match in this World Cup,” he noted.