Brazilian-born Matheus Nunes is proud to be representing Portugal again at a World Cup, stating the European country helped him launch his football career.
The Manchester City right-back, who was born in Rio de Janeiro but moved to Lisbon when he was 12, was first selected by Portugal in September 2021.
He had been invited to play for Tite’s Brazil before then but turned down the opportunity.
“I’d say it was difficult to make the decision to choose Portugal because I feel I’m equally attached to both,” Nunes said in Monday’s news conference in Palm Beach, Florida.
“In football, I owe more to Portugal than to Brazil. It was there that I spent the period when I started playing seriously; in Brazil, I was never registered with the federation.
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“I’m very proud to have chosen Portugal. I have a very strong bond with Brazil.
“Whenever I have time during the holidays, I go there. I have a lot of family living there. I have friends from Rio who come to the United States to watch the matches.
“I love the culture; I listen to Brazilian music. I’ll never lose those ties. I also have ties to Portugal. I’m half and half. That will never change.”
Asked if he would like to face Brazil in the World Cup final, Nunes, who was part of Portugal’s side that reached the quarterfinal stages four years ago in Qatar, said: “It would be special. What I want is to be in the final. What I want is to win.”
Nunes, 27, wants to help Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, win the World Cup for the first time.
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“Did I ever imagine playing alongside him? Never,” Nunes said of Ronaldo.
“Ten years ago, I was in Portugal’s sixth division. I never imagined it; it’s an honour to be here with him, and we’re delighted to be here with him. If we could win the title for him, that would be brilliant.
“It’s great to be here. It’s the pinnacle for any player. I’m happy, but I want to win.
“It’s about making the most of it. It’s the most beautiful competition in the world; we’re representing our country, we’re playing for 10 million people.
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“The feeling I want to have is pride. It would be great to come away with the title — I’m not going to lie — but if we don’t, we’ll know we gave it our all.”
Portugal were finally able to train in the U.S. as the team prepare to face Congo DR in their World Cup Group K opener on Wednesday.
Their planned first session was scheduled for Sunday, but was cancelled due to severe weather that swept through the West Palm Beach area.
On Monday, defender Rúben Dias trained separately from the rest of the squad, leading to speculation he may miss Portugal’s opening match.
