Roberto Martínez has confirmed his departure as Portugal head coach following the Seleção’s heartbreaking 1-0 defeat to Spain in the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup, insisting the tournament should not be viewed as a failure despite the early exit.
Portugal’s World Cup journey came to an agonising end at AT&T Stadium in Dallas after substitute Mikel Merino struck a dramatic 91st-minute winner to send Spain into the quarter-finals in what also proved to be Cristiano Ronaldo’s final appearance at football’s biggest tournament.
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Martínez, who took charge of Portugal in 2023 after leaving Belgium, was already due to see his contract expire at the end of the World Cup. Following Monday’s defeat, the Spanish tactician confirmed that his tenure had come to an end.
Speaking during his post-match press conference, the 52-year-old said it was the right time to step aside after Portugal also fell short in the quarter-finals of UEFA Euro 2024.
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“Yes, this is my last game with the national team,” Martínez said. “I’m proud. I’ve had 45 games, and I felt welcomed in Portugal and loved. It’s a memory I’ll take with me always.
“It was a pleasure, a source of pride, and responsibility. It’s hard, but it’s the end of a cycle, and in the context it makes absolute sense.”
Martínez leaves Portugal after overseeing 45 matches, bringing an end to a spell that followed managerial stints at Swansea City, Wigan Athletic, Everton and Belgium.
We didn’t fail
Despite guiding one of the tournament’s most talented squads, Martínez rejected suggestions that Portugal’s Round of 16 elimination was a failure.
With a squad boasting the creativity of Vitinha, João Neves and Bruno Fernandes in midfield, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo leading the attack, Portugal arrived at the tournament among the favourites but were unable to progress beyond the knockout stage.
Even so, Martínez maintained that the outcome was decided by the finest of margins rather than any lack of quality or ambition.
“We didn’t fail,” he said. “We lost a game, against a team that’s one of the favourites. We showed incredible individual talent. Winning or losing comes down to details in big games, with big teams… You fail when you don’t try to win, and we tried to win until the last minute.”
The former Belgium coach also highlighted how difficult it is to consistently challenge deep into World Cups, arguing that moments of fortune often separate success from disappointment.
“It’s not just Portugal,” Martínez added. “There aren’t many countries that consistently get to the latter stages of World Cups. It’s very difficult to be consistent and qualify always.
“There are things that make the difference, like a ball that hits the woodwork. These are things that decide World Cups.”
Martínez defends decision to keep Ronaldo till end of the game
Martínez also stood firmly behind his decision to leave 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo on the pitch for the full 90 minutes, despite Portugal chasing an equaliser after falling behind late in the contest.
READ ALSO: World Cup: Heartbreak for Ronaldo as Spain beat Portugal to reach quarter-finals
Martínez insisted that substituting the country’s all-time leading scorer would never have been the right call during normal time.
“When you’re a team, and you need a goal, you can’t take Cristiano Ronaldo off,” he said. “He can play 90 minutes, no problem.
“He’s a presence, he opens space, with a deadball situation, anything in the box, it would make no sense [to substitute him]. In extra time, it probably would have made sense to use Gonçalo Ramos. But we had to keep the structure, it wasn’t the case to take your top scorer off during the 90 minutes.”
Martínez’s departure closes a significant chapter for Portuguese football, ending a two-year spell that delivered moments of promise but ultimately fell short of the nation’s ambition to add a first FIFA World Cup title to its European Championship and UEFA Nations League triumphs.
His exit also marks the end of an era, coming on the same night Cristiano Ronaldo bowed out of the World Cup after a record-breaking career that spanned six editions of the tournament.
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