- Portugal ends Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with perfect record
- Cristiano Ronaldo and Roberto Martinez have proven their doubters wrong
- Trent and Bellingham can play together but can’t get in each other’s way – IAKO
Portugal have made it through qualifying to qualify for Euro 2024 despite concerns over head coach Roberto Martinez and questions about Cristiano Ronaldo’s future with the team.
After Qatar’s quarter-final exit at last year’s World Cup, the country turned to Martinez. They were eliminated in a match against Morocco, with Ronaldo only coming on as a substitute after coach Fernando Santos decided to omit the Portuguese icon from the starting line-up after the group stage.
Martinez was appointed in January, with local outlet A Bola revealing that 75% of Portugal fans opposed his appointment in a poll.
Spaniards are often accused of being Belgium’s golden generation – including the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku – failed to win a trophy or reach a major final in his six years in charge.
However, Martinez inherited a team that was demoralized after a loss to Morocco and turned around the team’s fortunes by heading into Euro 2024 with a 100% record in qualifying. Ronaldo, on the other hand, scored 10 goals and re-established his status in the Portuguese team at this age. 38 in total.
Ronaldo was considered a player in decline after quitting European football for Saudi Arabia and struggling at the World Cup.
But contrary to many expectations, he developed a good relationship with Martinez and scored in six of the nine qualifying games, scoring twice in four of them.
He has a staggering goalscoring record of 128 goals in 205 games and despite making his international debut two decades ago, Martinez believes he is still as hungry as ever.
“It’s hard for me to explain how a 38-year-old player who has played more games than any other player in the world can have the desire of an 18-year-old player,” he said, according to AS Sport.
“It’s a force that rubs off on the rest of the dressing room. A player who always tries to be in the right position, likes to score but has great collective discipline. He is a role model in the dressing room and has a player with his experience. The players are just amazing.”
Helpfully, the pair held talks after Martinez was appointed in January, with the Spaniard later saying it would be easy to fit Ronaldo into his plans.
He told talkSPORT in March: “I’ve met all the players and you can see what it means to play football and where they are in their careers.
“For Cristiano, he is not ready to leave. He is ready and wants to be part of the new cycle, when it will be easy to include him in the training camp in March and then you can make football decisions.
“He scored four goals, he’s a real leader, a captain and he brings experience that no other player in world football has. He’s a guy who can play 200 games for your country and that’s One that needs to be used in your dressing room.
Another player who has impressed for Portugal under Martinez is Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandez, who has scored six goals and provided seven assists.
The data in these ten games is more than the 17 appearances he has played for the Red Devils this season, scoring 4 goals and 3 assists.
A Bola described Fernandez as “the big man in qualifying” and “the commander-in-chief” in his rating of Portugal’s recent win over Iceland.
Despite his ability to feature in big moments for the club, United want him to bring his performances at international level to Old Trafford.
Portugal’s offensive talent doesn’t stop there, with Portugal scoring 36 goals in the qualifying round, more than any other team.
Bernardo Silva, Goncalo Ramos, Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix all scored three goals, while Liverpool’s in-form striker Diogo Jota also contributed. Contribute to the ball.
The range of options they have at the forward position is enough to worry any team heading into next summer’s competition.
Their defense may not be as strong, but there are plenty of good options, with Manchester City star Ruben Dias one of the best in the world and defensive midfielder Joao Palinha famous for his role in Fulham and Fulham are sought after by European giants due to their outstanding performances. his country.
However, it’s not just about what happens on the pitch.
According to the Daily Mail, Martinez takes 90-minute Portuguese lessons every day and calls on everyone to speak to him in Portuguese so that he can learn quickly.
He has also brought in an impressive backroom staff, including former Chelsea and Real Madrid defender Ricardo Carvalho.
Martinez also Jesus Seba, who first worked with him as players at Wigan in 1995; Inaki Bergara, who worked with him at Swansea and Everton; Chelsea Assistant manager Anthony Barry, who worked with Martinez in Belgium; and performance director Richard Evans, who worked with him at Swansea and Everton.
However, despite all the positives, there is still some evidence that Martinez needs to perform.
Portugal is in a group with Slovakia, Luxembourg, Iceland, Bosnia and Liechtenstein. None of them would be considered a serious challenge to Europe’s elite nations, and Portugal have been barely tested, as shown by scoring just twice in ten games.
At the same time, Martinez has represented Belgium and Portugal in 38 European and World Cup qualifiers without losing a game.
Martinez finished third at the 2018 World Cup with Belgium, was eliminated in the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 and didn’t even make it to the group stages in Qatar last winter.
For Portugal, with the likes of Spain, Germany, Italy and Belgium not being the formidable challengers they are known and expected to be, Martinez will be under immense pressure to lead Portugal to good results and set the stage for them in 2016. The success achieved at the European Cup adds to the glory.