Buoyed by their Nations League victory last summer, Portugal begin their World Cup campaign on Wednesday with renewed confidence that they can win a maiden World Cup title.
Ever since Roberto Martinez replaced Fernando Santos in January 2023, the former Swansea, Wigan and Everton boss has overseen a talented generation mature into a star-packed team, with established stars mixing in with exciting new talent.
Portugal has never made a World Cup final, and while Martinez is not quite ready to declare his side one of the favourites this summer, he does believe they will be serious contenders.
Martinez on Portugal’s World Cup chances
Martinez has overseen significant changes in the three-and-a-half years since taking the job and admits that he has been surprised by the speed of his team’s development.
“Significantly, and in ways that continue to surprise me positively,” he tells FourFourTwo when asked how the squad has evolved. "When I took charge, we didn’t have Vitinha in the squad, nor Nuno Mendes, Joao Neves, Pedro Neto or Chico Conceicao.
“All of them have emerged and become key players for us – players who’d be in the starting 11 of almost any international team. That kind of continuous renewal – a country that keeps on producing high-quality additions – is something you’d normally associate with countries of 60 million people or more.
“The fact that Portugal does it with a population of 10 million says everything about the quality of the entire system.”
Martinez’s first major tournament with Portugal was Euro 2024, when he saw his side knocked out in the quarter-finals on penalties by France.
“I’m convinced that match won us the Nations League,” Martinez says when asked what he took away from that tournament. “In that game, during the second half and through extra-time especially, we found the belief that we could play our own game against the very best teams in the world, without adapting to the opponent.
“We ended that match much stronger than France. In extra-time, we were the dominant team. The realisation that we could control the game against the French, that we didn’t have to defend deep and absorb pressure, was the psychological foundation for everything that followed during our Nations League campaign. We gained the conviction that we belong at the very highest level.
Portugal’s road to the National League title saw them defeat both Germany and Spain, landing what could be seen as a useful psychological blow ahead of this summer’s World Cup.
“The distance between being close to winning and actually winning is very small in physical terms, but very large in psychological weight,” he continues. “Winning it gives us proof that we can close out a tournament. I want to be completely honest about what that means for the World Cup. It would be easy – and in a certain way dishonest – for a manager to say, 'We have no expectations, we take it one game at a time.' Our players compete every week in dressing rooms where the expectation is to win the Champions League.
“There’s no logic in reducing that standard when they pull on the Portugal shirt. We’re genuine candidates to go very far this summer. We have the quality, the collective organisation, the recent tournament experience, and now the proof that we can win.
"We’re not favourites; Portugal has never won a World Cup, our best result was third in 1966, with Eusebio. There’s a psychological dimension to not having won something before – a barrier that can’t be declared gone simply because you feel ready. It has to be earned, step by step, by playing at the tournament.”
