Surprised Celtic and Portugal winger Jota has opened following his inclusion in the 55-man Portugal squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup to be hosted in Qatar later this month by national coach Fernando Santos. He describes the call-up as another step in his career.
Jota has been in fine form for the Scottish giants after making a permanent switch from Benfica during the transfer window. However, his tenure at Celtic didn’t get off to a great start as he suffered a muscle injury.
On Sunday, he made his return coming in as a substitute after fully recovering. He got his name on the scoresheet, netting the third goal.
That’s a very good moment for me and for my family. I’m just grateful for everything that is going on. Two years ago, I was not even playing for any club. I was at a club, of course, but I wasn’t having many minutes,” said Jota.
“Two years later, to be on this 55-man list is something very good for me, but this is just another step. I just need to keep working and enjoying it on the pitch, and everything will come naturally.
“You cannot just be obsessed with those kinds of things. I wake up every day with the mentality of being a better person and a better football player, and building a strong base to be better.”
The squad will, however, be trimmed down to 26 players. The deadline for Santos to submit his final list to FIFA is on November 14th.