Ireland maestro Martos keen to carry momentum into Uzbekistan clash 

Martos' Irish heritage may be traced back through his mother's side of the family to his grandad David Pugh, but football is a strong theme on his father's side too.

Ramon Martos of the Republic of Ireland has a shot on goal. Pic: Nikola Krstic/Sportsfile

With 78 minutes of under-17 World Cup action under his belt, midfielder Ramon Martos can look back on a good day's work as Ireland opened their campaign with a 4-1 win over Panama. 

Martos - who plays for the Spanish outfit UD Almeria's under-18s - patrolled midfield in a calm manner alongside captain Rory Finneran throughout that Wednesday afternoon meeting. 

Dublin-born Martos, looking back on their matchday one triumph, felt they controlled proceedings effectively throughout.

"We've looked back on it, and the feelings after the game and during the game were very good," Martos said. "We felt we had control of the match. With our forward players, we're always going to be a threat on the counter with the ball. 

"The manager (Colin O'Brien) said to us a lot of times that we've got a lot of variability in our styles of play. We can go long, we can play short.

"I think that has helped us a lot over the years. I think we've acquired that skill as we've gone along."

Martos is wary of the threat that Saturday's opponents Uzbekistan will pose in Doha (kick-off, 3.45pm Irish time), given their success in the Asian Cup and their winning start to World Cup life. 

Momentum garnered from the convincing victory over Panama is something Martos is keen to make good use of on Saturday, but Uzbekistan will also be thinking likewise after their win dismissal of Paraguay. 

"Uzbekistan, they look like a really good team. Obviously, some people may know that they've won the Asian Cup. Some people say that they're the best team in Asia now," Martos said. "We've been looking at them today and they have some very good individuals. 

"Hopefully, we can bring the momentum from the first match into the second and perform like how we know we can play."

Martos' Irish heritage may be traced back through his mother's side of the family, but football is a strong theme on his father's side too.

His father, Spain native Ramon, was a member of both the Real Madrid and Real Betis academies, while his maternal grandfather, multi-talented sportsman David Pugh, was an FAI Cup winner with Shamrock Rovers and a Sligo Rovers club legend.  

Pugh also captained the Republic of Ireland under-23s in his youth. The grandfather's accomplishments haven't gone unnoticed by the grandson.

"I was born in Dublin. I obviously live in Spain now, but my parents, they met in Cork. The whole of my mum's side are all from Sligo, from Rosses Point.

"We go there every summer. It's a really good place. I love it there.

"My grandad, David Pugh, he also played for Ireland. He's captained an under-23 side and played against loads of great players. He was telling me he played against Pelé, unbelievable stories. 

"He just told me like it was nothing: 'I played against Pelé, it was alright'! 

"It's really good, to be honest, to know that David Pugh is in my family and all of that."