The Portuguese Football Federation announced on Monday the appointment of Spain’s Roberto Martinez at the helm of the national team, replacing Fernando Santoshin, who stepped down following his exit from the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
And Martinez was no stranger to the finals in Qatar, where he was knocked out in the first round of the third 2018 World Cup, in a notable surprise.
The 49-year-old coach’s first and foremost challenge will be dealing with Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo’s future at international level, especially after the latter progressed to Saudi victory.
“The starting point will be the group of 26 players who participated in the World Cup, and Cristiano Ronaldo is one of them,” Martinez said at the press conference, cautiously adding that he will make his decisions “on the pitch” and “not on the pitch”. . the office.”
Martinez left the Belgium national team last month, claiming early exclusion from the World Cup was not the reason for his departure, but rather that he made his decision before competitions started.
After a difficult victory over Canada (1-0), Belgium suffered a sensational defeat against Morocco (2-0), before drawing without a goal with Croatia, to say goodbye to the tournament.
Martinez took charge of Belgium in 2016 following their painful European Cup quarter-final elimination by Wales.
Under his leadership, the team reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, when they lost to France, who went on to win the title, before finishing in third place. The Belgium national team occupied the top of the FIFA national team rankings for three years during this period.
The Portuguese national team is also coming out of a long period of stability after eight years under the guidance of Santos, which gave it its first important titles in its history: Euro 2016, and the first edition of the European Nations League in 2019.
And after Santos, 68, announced his departure from the Portuguese national team, five days after he was knocked out by Morocco in the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar, the Portuguese press reported that the local federation wants to appoint his compatriot Jose Mourinho , the current Italian manager of Roma.
