“Proud of what?”: Ricardo Quaresma tears into Martínez | OneFootball

Following Portugal’s elimination from the 2026 World Cup, sealed by a 0-1 defeat to Spain, Ricardo Quaresma delivered harsh criticism of coach Roberto Martínez and the performance of the national team.

The former Portugal international questioned the “pride” shown by the Spanish manager and argued that the team’s showing was “far too little” for the quality available in the squad.

“Proud of what? I still don’t understand this pride he has,” Ricardo Quaresma began, speaking to LiveModeTV. “He was in Belgium with a fantastic generation and achieved nothing. He comes here to Portugal with an incredible generation and has still achieved nothing. We won a Nations League. Are we going to be happy with a Nations League? For me, that’s not enough,” he fired back.

Given this scenario, Roberto Martínez’s departure would, in his view, be inevitable. “There are things that make me furious. If we didn’t have talent and quality, then fine. But you have enormous talent and quality!” he stressed, blaming the coach for the team’s lack of identity: “Whose fault is the identity? The coach’s. I still haven’t figured out the right tactics to play with.”

Analyzing the decisive match at Dallas Stadium, Quaresma felt that Nuno Mendes’s injury was a key moment, as it allowed Spain to gain the upper hand in the game. Even so, his focus went beyond that incident and centered above all on the attitude of the Portuguese team. “Even today, you handed the game to Spain from start to finish. Spain controlled the whole game, doing whatever they wanted (…) and we were just out there with no desire, no joy, very slow,” he lamented.

The former Portugal international also placed responsibility on the players, arguing that they “didn’t give what they had to give,” and described a midfield that was “very weak” and a “lost defense.” Even so, he kept the coach at the center of his criticism. “Martínez has never convinced me. He tried 50 tactics, none of them worked. And there’s your proof,” he concluded, adding: “We’re going out with the national team that everyone said was the best of all time… but best of all time in what way? What did they do? What did they win?”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.