João Paulo Días Fernandes, ‘Paulinho‘, top scorer with the champion Toluca in the Apertura of Mexican soccer, stated this Friday that he was ready to be called up to the Portugal team and help it, along with Cristiano Ronaldoor, to transcend in the 2026 World Cup. “As long as I play I will be available for the national team. I think I am for that with what I am doing in Toluca; I am ready to help. You have to go with a lot of ambition to win the World Cup, but the World Cup has very good teams, so the important thing is to start the first game, and if it is with Cristiano, even more so,” said the three-time top scorer in Mexico.
‘Paulinho’ is the main piece in the attack of the so-called Red Devils led by the Argentine Antonio Mohamed, who in the final phase of the Apertura will try to win their second consecutive league title.
The Barcelos native has only played three games with the senior team in which he has scored a couple of goals, but the great moment he is experiencing in Mexico has put him in the eyes of Spanish coach Roberto Martínez to complete his attack for the next World Cup tournament. “We now have three that we are observing. ‘Paulinho’, because he is being very consistent, is a player who is playing very well, André Silva, who is having a very good season at Elche and Fábio Silva, at Dormund, who was already with the national team,” Roberto Martínez said last Tuesday.
The coach’s words fueled João Paulo’s desire to maintain his level and get into the final Portuguese list. “It would be incredible, being in Mexico, to play a World Cup for my country here. I think the stars are aligning, it would be very nice and special for me, also because of what Mexico has given me, but let’s see if it happens,” stressed the former Portuguese SC Braga and Sporting Club player.
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An excitement that is made even greater by the possibility of playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, a football legend from his country. “Cristiano Ronaldo changed the history of Portuguese football, furthermore, perhaps this is the best generation of players in Portugal, so it is complicated, there are many good players, but I am ready for the day they call me,” he concluded. Toluca awaits the winner of the Juárez-Pachuca match next Sunday, to face them in the Apertura quarterfinals.
