Portugal have appointed the Belgian coach who has resigned after failing to reach the first round of the Qatar World Cup. Roberto Martinez resigned following Belgium’s defeat in the group stage. He’s back after coaching the team for six years. There were earlier indications that Martinez would accompany the paratroopers. Fernando Santos, the Portugal coach who reached the quarter-finals in Qatar, has resigned. Martinez fills this vacancy.
Martinez said he was happy to coach one of the most popular national teams in the world.
Martinez started out as manager of Wigan in the English league and spent four years with the team before also managing Everton. Under Martinez, Wigan won the FA Cup in 2013. He joined the Belgium national team in 2016. The team finished third in the 2018 World Cup and finished first in the FIFA rankings. When Qatar reached the World Cup, the team were runners-up.
In addition to being Euro 2016 champions, Portugal also won the 2018-19 Nations League title under Santos. However, the team failed to progress beyond the quarter-finals at the World Cup in Qatar, where they were stingy in giving Cristiano Ronaldo a chance and attracted media attention. The team only managed one win in the group stage.
Martinez told questions about the squad that his current squad has 26 players who have played in the World Cup and has Ronaldo. He added that the decision will be made considering performances on the pitch and that words in the office are not relevant. Martinez says he will give respect to Cristiano as the player who has helped the national team reach heights for 19 years.
Martinez has been criticized for failing to find and train a new generation beyond the Belgian side’s golden generation of Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku. It was a continuation of it and this time they were eliminated without making it through the group stage.
