Every World Cup Dream Needs a Team: Portugal Did Not Have the Manager | OneFootball

Robert Martinez has missed out on the best talent ever at his disposal after an early exit at the 2026 World Cup.

The manager had six years in charge of Belgium’s ‘golden generation’ – a spell that included players such as Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku at their peak – but could only lead the Red Devils to one World Cup semi-final, a quarter-final exit at Euro 2020, and a group stage exit at the 2022 World Cup.

Martinez then took over Portugal in 2023, winning the Nations League in 2024-25, but did not achieve anything significant in the competitions that truly count, and has resigned following their World Cup last-16 exit, denying Cristiano Ronaldo one final shot at the prize.

Back in his time as manager of Belgium, a joke frequently deployed was that Roberto Martinez’s fate was down to one man – the Belgian FA’s technical director: Roberto Martinez. Trigger-happy or not, Martinez has just sacked himself. “I came to Portugal to win the World Cup, and I think that, without winning it, there is no point continuing,” he said after the Portuguese exited the tournament never truly looking likely to win it.

The team were held to a stalemate by the DR Congo, with only one shot on goal. They were second-best in their draw with Colombia. They perhaps were not even the best side when they edged Croatia. They did look deserving of their elimination by Spain – partly due to their lack of ambition – and were only playing Spain because their rather abject group stage performance guaranteed them the tougher side of the bracket for the knockout stages.

“I hope that Portugal has good memories in the three and a half years I was the head coach of the team,” Martinez added. Unless the Portuguese football community is especially fond of winning last year’s Nations League title, which his side did, that is a fairly vain hope.

Portugal were tremendous in qualification, but faltered badly on the big stage. A Euro 2024 quarter-final exit, and a World Cup round of 16 elimination, would have been perfectly respectable for many a footballing nation of Portugal’s size: but not with the level of talent they possessed to warrant the FIFA World Ranking #5 prior to the tournament.

Portugal had, it was felt, one of the best midfield units in international football as well as the outstanding left-back, Nuno Mendes.

Roberto Martinez leads a team talk during his eventual last match in charge of Portugal, as they were knocked out by Spain in the 2026 World Cup. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

However, the reality was that Portugal failed to turn up when it counted most. Across two major international tournaments, Martinez’s side drew blank in three out of their four knockout games.

The persistent decision to include Cristiano Ronaldo in the starting XI – though obviously, one cannot know for certain – has to be questioned. One can only imagine what effect it had, and there must have been a winning moment for Portugal that has not been equalled since Euro 2016, which is almost certainly now the ultimate chance of silverware having slipped by.

The Ronaldo Problem

The lack of efficacy of Portugal’s attack in North America (the Uzbekistan demolition match apart) echoed the manager’s failure to coax maximum output from other talented attackers, in part due to their being overshadowed by Ronaldo.

Bruno Fernandes, the Premier League’s top assist maker, was subpar – notching just a single goal (none at all in the actual competition) and one assist across the competition. Bernardo Silva endured a torrid time, starting the tournament strong but being hooked at half-time of the opener against the DRC, restricted to brief substitute appearances and the overall picture was one of waste for a hugely influential individual.

With Ronaldo always in the team, it felt almost a guarantee that any hope of winning a World Cup was lost to Manchester United and Manchester City’s captains, respectively – two players whose entire international careers, despite being over 30 and having over 200 caps between them, have been played under the Spaniard’s long shadow.

Meanwhile, in selecting Ronaldo as striker, Martinez was in a state of flux regarding wing options. For example, the man who’d had such a telling influence on the victory over Croatia, Rafael Leão, inexplicably made way for João Félix in the Spanish clash with that decision backfiring badly.

Remove Uzbekistan, and Portugal had only eight shots on target against the four stronger opponents they faced in the World Cup.

That statistic alone condemns Martinez. In midfield, whilst Silva was axed, both João Neves and Vitinha were unable to replicate their Paris St-Germain form. Instead, the plusses came from elsewhere within the side.

With one of the most commanding keepers in the month, Diogo Costa stood up well, while Renato Veiga had a big tournament and after the departure of Pepe, the question mark surrounding who would partner Ruben Dias was answered adequately by the 22-year-old.

This development leaves Portugal well-placed in the future, and perhaps if Silva, Fernandes, and Joao Cancelo are around until Euro 2028, they only have two gaps to fill in the squad: striker and manager.

Crucially, whether Ronaldo eventually calls time on his 233-cap, 146-goal international career or not, he surely must be retired by then, and Portugal’s faith that AC Milan’s record signing Goncalo Ramos will provide first-team football (which has thus far eluded him at PSG) should pay off.

A last chance at a World Cup gone for Cristiano Ronaldo. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

Replacing Martinez should be an easy enough process: Portugal produce too many managers, but a clutch of them have recently made other career decisions.

Jose Mourinho, Marco Silva and Ruben Amorim have all taken up new posts at Real Madrid, Benfica, and AC Milan, respectively, with Nuno Espirito Santo committed to remaining with a recently relegated West Ham.

That the national team has been run by a Spaniard since 2023 suggests that the bulk of the country’s highest-profile coaches would much prefer club roles to international appointments, and it will be fascinating to see where the FAPF go next, as will it be to see where Martinez lands after a ten-year tenure in international football.

His six years in charge of Belgium were by and large successful, and a 3rd Place World Cup finish surely warrants consideration. Had he matched this with Portugal, there would have been a clear argument for retention; as things stand, the memory will remain of a team, hobbled by its attachment to a fading icon, which never truly reached its potential.

Spain advanced to the 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals thanks to Mikel Merino’s second-half strike, the substitute netting a stunning 91st-minute winner to sink Portugal at Dallas Stadium.

Super Sub Merino’s Late Winner Ends Ronaldo’s World Cup Hopes

Mikel Merino delivered on his substitution in the 91st minute as he guided Spain to a 1-0 victory over Portugal to send La Roja through to the last eight of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and into a date with the United States or Belgium.

The Arsenal midfielder curled into the corner, beyond Diogo Costa, just six minutes after his arrival to seal a sixth clean sheet in seven games at the tournament for Spain.

Merino’s goal condemned Portugal to another early World Cup exit, bringing a conclusion to Cristiano Ronaldo’s final World Cup at his fifth appearance with the 2016 European Champions.

Spain had come close to taking an early lead through Mikel Oyarzabal but he fired over from the edge of the penalty area after being presented with a golden opportunity in the eighth minute by Dani Olmo.

The Europeans’ promising start was tempered as Portugal stopper Costa pushed Lamine Yamal’s curling attempt to safety before recovering sharply to tip Alex Baena’s shot away, before the latter was forced into a near-empty goal for the save that saved his country from a fifth-minute goal by a well-hit attempt that was deflected over the bar by Oyarzabal.

Cristiano Ronaldo forced Unai Simón into a sprawling save with an instinctive first-half volley after he latched on to a João Félix through-ball.

However, it was Nuno Mendes who went the closest to breaking the deadlock before half-time, his fierce low drive after a short corner Routine taking a deflection off Pedro Porro’s head and crashing off the crossbar.

Image Credit: Opta Analyst

Mendes had put in a tireless performance for Portugal, but had to go off on 56 minutes after sustaining an injury, after which Spain managed to get their way through a more advanced Lamine Yamal against the Portuguese newcomer, with which Baena managed to get a shot off that was easily saved by Costa.

Spain managed to get more shots off after a chance from Yamal was saved over the bar, while Bruno Fernandes managed to hit the side netting from a few yards from his opponent’s goalmouth, though with both teams on course to play in extra time after this, Merino came on in the 85th minute to replace Olmo, and would be called upon to be decisive in injury time.

A pass from Rodri was taken by Ferran Torres, who put Merino through into acres of space, and the substitute, taking all his time, calmly slotted the ball into the bottom left-hand corner, to hand Spain a berth in the next round.

Portugal have lost their last two World Cup games as well as failing to score in those two games and they only registered one shot on target at Spain in a second half showing that lacked incision and inspiration. Spain, on the other hand, looked far more dynamic and composed as their passing range kept them in complete control of the game.

Roberto Martinez’s World Cup ended with a gamble on Cristiano Ronaldo that didn’t pay off. The dilemma over the superstar was a lingering subtext of Portugal’s tournament before they ever touched North American soil, but it burst into the foreground again, in the sharpest of terms, against Spain.

Eight years after Ronaldo had torn Spain apart with a hat-trick in 2018, Martinez’s decision to select the 41-year-old instead of the up-and-coming Goncalo Ramos backfired.

Ronaldo’s only real impact in the match was losing possession three times, and only 19 touches – the lowest of his career in the first 45 minutes of a World Cup game – as Portugal were soundly beaten.

With his team on their knees and producing a mere 0.58 xG against a resolute Spain defence, it was bizarre that Martinez never turned to Ramos, who produced heroics against Spain in the Round of 16 when replacing the substituted, clearly annoyed, Ronaldo to head the winning goal deep into stoppage time.

Ramos has, by far, the most impressive record of any Portugal striker who has been given an opportunity at this World Cup. Across four tournaments in 187 minutes, he has four goals and one assist.

Many of these goals came when he stepped up to be Portugal’s main striker in a World Cup start against Switzerland, a 6-1 win over the Swiss which marked the first time Ronaldo had been left out of a Portugal World Cup squad since the 2006 tournament, and a clear indicator for many that it was time to move towards a younger leader.

If we’re being brutal, then, for a lot of people, the narrative surrounding Ronaldo at the World Cup reached its climax four years earlier, when the captain cried after a defeat to Morocco. At that World Cup, he scored only one goal in 291 minutes, and Ramos’ spectacular contribution against Switzerland looked to be a generational handover.

Martinez, however, elected to continue the story with Ronaldo, retaining the captaincy and his central role to support him rather than build around the younger generations.

“We are not talking about looking for anything beyond the fact that we are talking about a football icon,” said Martinez.

“There aren’t many Cristiano Ronaldos. I will always be grateful for what he tried to do in this World Cup because his dream was to win it. He was an incredible captain, both as a footballer and as a human being. His contribution in the locker room and with the players will be remembered by the entire coaching staff and the players forever.

“He is a role model in football, as an athlete, and as a human being.”

Roberto Martinez’s Cristiano Ronaldo decision did not pay off. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

Ultimately, a manager is judged based on his actions, choices and gambles, but for Roberto Martinez, none of them paid off.

As Martinez leaves Portugal, the side will likely move on from its ‘golden generation’, and may need to resurface under a new manager who has the guts to make the calls when the team needs it most.