Bernardo Silva insists he will play wherever he is asked to for Portugal, even if he would prefer to be operating from the central position he occupies for Manchester City.
Bernardo was in brilliant form for City all season, and has taken that momentum into June's Nations League fixtures for Portugal. He has featured in all three of Portugal's games so far, including a starring role off the right in their 2-0 win over Czech Republic. First, he drew in his full-back and flicked a lovely ball to send City teammate Joao Cancelo into the box on the underlap, who finished powerfully at a tight angle.
He later set up Goncalo Guedes, and in their previous win over Switzerland he had assisted Cancelo again with another clever reverse ball for Cancelo's inside run. However, while he has maintained his effectiveness from the wing, he said on Thursday that his preferred role remains in the centre.
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He told O Jogo : "I'm happy with the performance, with the victory and with our classification, because we are first in the group and that's important.
"Position in the middle? It's a position I know very well, where I play more often, where I did all the training and where I grew up. But I've always said that I'm willing and available to play where the coach thinks is best for the team. But it's a position I really like and where I feel very good."
On his changing role as provider for Cancelo rather than getting on the end of his teammate's passes, Bernardo said their connection comes from years playing together.
"I played with him for seven years in Benfica's formation, now at City for some time, Selecao (Portugal's team)," he said, adding that he is ready to finish the season and get some well-deserved rest. "So he's a player I know well and both today and in the last game worked well. the victory.
"Almost everyone [left tired], because it was a long season and getting to the end and having these four games is tough. But there's only one game left, we'll do our best to get the three points and try to finish these four games in a very strong position to finish the group in first."
