Roberto Martínez: "For the Portuguese national team, dreams drive the World Cup"

Portugal's national coach, Roberto Martínez, previewed the team's opening match in Group K of the 2026 World Cup against DR Congo early Wednesday morning. The coach discussed the various objectives set for the national team in this competition, humorously labeling himself as "the annoying one."

"Dreams drive life, for all of us. For the Portuguese national team, dreams drive the World Cup. Everyone who supports the national team has an opinion, and it's highly respected. As the coach, my responsibility is to figure out how we can achieve that dream. A dream is an emotion. It's tough. It's like winning. What is winning? The coach has to show what it means to win against DR Congo, to provide clarity. The coach is the annoying one, who needs to point out that there are two World Cups. One is the three group stage matches. That's all we have. Then we need to grow and show we're ready to continue," the national coach stated.

"It makes sense for our president, our captain, to talk about the dream. I also have the dream. But my responsibility is to show that the World Cup is won rationally and with a very clear path. We're talking about different voices. There's a general voice, and then there's the annoying, rational voice that explains the path and uses the experience of being in a third World Cup, of many games with the national team," he added.

The coach also addressed hydration breaks, which divide each half into two segments of approximately three minutes: "The game changes. If we need hydration breaks, and we do in some very demanding stadiums, then, within the same tournament, we need to have hydration breaks in all games to ensure the integrity of the competition. It significantly alters how we work during matches. Previously, it was about tactics before the game, at halftime, and at the end for the next game. Now there are four intervals. It's a very, very important, revolutionary aspect, because now the game is played in four parts. It's not my role to say if it's good or bad. We have to utilize it. We already had the opportunity to do so in March. It's different for players and coaching staff, but we need to make the most of it. We're talking about a three-minute period. We can work extensively on tactical aspects, flexibility, and making adjustments. We already see this in other sports. Tactically, it greatly helps to have contact with the players during the game."