Portugal to benefit from specialist Austin McPhee’s experience
The influence of English football club Aston Villa is evident within the Portuguese national team camp, where Scottish set-piece specialist Austin McPhee is receiving high praise for his work during the early days of preparations for the 2026 World Cup.
According to the Portuguese newspaper A Bola, the Portuguese national team focused heavily on attacking aspects and finishing during the first week of training. While attention usually focuses on the players, the newspaper highlighted McPhee’s growing role within the coaching staff.
McPhee is an important member of the coaching staff at Aston Villa, led by Spaniard Unai Emery, and has also become a key member of the assistant staff to Spanish coach Roberto Martinez with the Portuguese national team.
As preparations for the World Cup intensified, McPhee participated extensively in training sessions focused on set pieces.
The newspaper pointed to Aston Villa’s statistics during the 2025-2026 season as evidence of McPhee’s impact. The team scored 18 goals from set pieces in all competitions (excluding penalties).
These goals constituted 32 percent of the team’s total goals, highlighting the importance of this tactical aspect, which Emery’s team consistently exploited to gain an advantage over its rivals.
The newspaper also stated that working on set pieces has been part of all of Portugal’s training sessions so far, with a number of different plans and variations being tested before the start of the tournament.
McPhee has built his reputation as an expert in this field over the years, starting with the Northern Ireland national team, and then during his time with Danish club Midtjylland and Aston Villa.
The report shows that McPhee’s role has become more prominent within the Portuguese national team. The team uses mechanical barriers that rise to simulate defenders’ jumps during free-kick practice, and set-piece drills have become an essential part of the daily program.
According to the newspaper, McPhee was one of the most active and involved coaches in these training sessions. This confirms that one of Aston Villa’s key technical experts continues to make his mark at the international level as well.
If Portugal succeeds in utilizing set pieces during the World Cup in North America, Aston Villa fans may become familiar with many of the tactical ideas and details that McPhee helped develop.
