While everyone was chasing an interview with his twin brother Leo, the scorer of a hat-trick against Oman in Portugal’s fast start to the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Russia 2021™, Be was sharing a laugh with FIFA.com after setting up two of his sibling’s goals.

“It’s been the same ever since we were in our mum’s tummy: I play the passes and he scores the goals,” said the 31-year-old wing, who is two minutes older than Leo. “That’s what we do and it’s worked out well for us.”

So how does his brother show his gratitude for such generosity? “By sticking it in the back of the net,” said the No8, who like his twin was part of the Portugal side that won the World Cup in 2015 and 2019. “He gives me my little place in history by putting away the chances I create, and he’s very good at it."

“A lot of the time I don’t have to look for him; I can hear his voice and I know where he is,” continued Be, who served up a tournament-high seven assists at the last Beach Soccer World Cup. “They say twins have a special connection and it’s true. I know where he is and he knows where to position himself to make things easy for me. It helps when the going gets tough. We always manage to come up with something different.” That is what happened in their side’s narrow 5-3 win over Oman. “We knew it would be that tight,” said Be. “We played them at the last World Cup and it was a close game too. We had to fight and work hard, but we got the win and that’s what counts.” This is not the first time, of course, that Be has walked on to the sand a defending world champion. He did so at Bahamas 2017, where Portugal finished eighth and he failed to score in four matches. “We need to be more watchful this time, and that’s because of something we’ve spoken about a lot: we’re the champions and the team to beat,” he explained. “We know that if we slip up our opponents will pounce. We need to keep going to the end of every game.”

Motivation is something the Martins boys, who were born in Brazil, have never been short of. Their ambition was always to play football and they even tried their luck on grass in Spain. When they returned home, they started playing beach soccer to keep fit while they waited for an opportunity to come their way. And come it did, ten years ago, from beach soccer. As Be explained, the twins knew they had what it took to succeed: “I can’t believe it’s been ten years already. A lot’s changed, not least the fact that we’ve improved a lot (laughs).” Be was the first to make his name in Brazil, both at club level – with a spell in Russian beach soccer – and with the national team, making his international debut in 2012. Yet when the brothers were invited to play for Portugal, having taken out Portuguese nationality in 2009, they decided to make the change. That was 2014. A year later they were world champions, with the older of the two scoring three goals in five matches. “We’ve got where we are today through hard work and dedication, by sacrificing things like spending time with our family,” said Be. “It’s brought us here, though, and we’ll try to keep doing this for a long time, playing and winning, which is the most important thing.”

Portugal’s next opponents are Senegal, who overpowered Uruguay 6-1 in their opener. “We watched the game and we know we’ve got another very tough and very physical match coming up,” he said. “We need to put even more into the game. They’ve got some very big players. One of them is the size of my brother and I put together (laughs).” Portugal have only one objective, as Be pointed out: “To win. Whenever you play for Portugal the only aim is to win the title, and this time’s no different.” The scorer of four goals at Paraguay 2019, where he played a part in 11 of Portugal’s 33 goals in all, he is unconcerned about pressure: “You expect it. It’s there when you pull on the jersey and we know the responsibility it brings. But it’s good: what better pressure to have than defending the title and everything that involves?”