In the end, Roberto Martinez was right.
Portugal’s Power of Six
After a six-year spell at Belgium which started with an unprecedented bronze medal finish in Russia in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and which ended with a humiliating group stage exit in Qatar, Martinez took charge of the Portuguese national team after the 2022 FIFA World Cup, replacing Portugal’s greatest-ever coach Fernando Santos.
Having lost on penalties to France in the Euro 2024 quarterfinals, Martinez then led Portugal to a penalty shootout victory against Spain in the 2025 UEFA Nations League Final — the last time that Spain suffered defeat. As he prepared to head to North America for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, he stated, “I believe a lot in numerology and I believe the number 6 can be very good for Portugal.
“In 2016 Portugal won the Euro, 1966 was Portugal’s best ever World Cup, in 2006 Portugal got to the semis, so I think in 2026 Portugal can achieve what it deserves.”
His intuition was proven correct. On July 6, Martinez’s Portugal were sent packing from the FIFA World Cup as Spain’s #6, Mikel Merino, scored a 91st-minute goal to eliminate Portugal from the tournament. And after stepping down from his post, he is now on the lookout for the sixth job of his coaching career.
Martinez’s Farewell
“Yes, this is my last game with the national team,” Martinez said in the post-match press conference. “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.”
“We didn’t fail; we lost a game, against a team that’s one of the favorites. We showed incredible individual talent. Winning or losing is about details in the big games, with big teams… You fail when you don’t try to win, and we tried to win until the last minute.”
“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.”
Match Report
Whilst Spain had dominated Austria to secure their first World Cup knockout win in 16 years, Portugal had only just eked out a narrow win against Croatia. Spain threatened early on via Mikel Oyarzabal, who squandered two brilliant opportunities, with Diogo Costa continuing to demonstrate why he was Portugal’s top World Cup performer with a number of superb stops.
But Portugal would finally wake up after the first hydration break, with Cristiano Ronaldo forcing a strong save from Unai Simón, whilst Nuno Mendes’ firecracker took a deflection off his former teammate Pedro Porro and ricocheted off the crossbar. The second half would prove far less adventurous, with both sides refusing to take overt risks in possession.
An Impactful Change
Portuguese fortunes changed in the 56th minute when Nuno Mendes, the only left back in the world who consistently gets the better of Lamine Yamal, went off due to injury. Nélson Semedo replaced him, and whilst he did fairly well at defending in an unnatural left-sided position, he wasn’t able to provide the same attacking impetus as the PSG fullback.
“Obviously, we need to try to improve—to look at what we didn’t do well, engage in some self-criticism, and analyze this World Cup to see where we fell short and what we could have done better,” stated Semedo after the match. “We have a great national team with a lot of quality, and we know we could perhaps have achieved a bit more, but overall, I think we performed well.”
“I think we were eliminated by a great team; a team that is a title contender. We went toe-to-toe with them, but ended up conceding a goal late in the match -had our chances in a very evenly matched game. We know we have a great team and that we perhaps could have done better, but above all, I think we need to congratulate my teammates on their commitment and move forward, because life goes on.”
Spain turns up the heat
From that point on, Spain continued to raise their level and congest Portugal into their own half. Even with Martinez making all five of substitutions by the time that Luis de la Fuente had only made one (Ferran Torres for Álex Baena), Portugal had no way of coping with their Iberian neighbors threat in possession.
With Portugal unable to create any danger whatsoever on the counter, Spain continued to grow in confidence, forcing Costa into a number of elite saves. Just when it seemed that we’d be headed to extra time in Arlington, Torres combined with fellow substitute Merino for the sole goal of the match.
Portugal were reactive rather than proactive, and they finally showed some attacking initiative with Bernardo Silva and João Neves both coming close to scoring from headers. It was too little too late, though, with Spain confirming their spot in the quarterfinal and setting up a date with Belgium in Los Angeles.
“We knew it would be an evenly matched game, and I think we read it perfectly because they have players of tremendous quality,” said Spain captain Rodri. “I also want to highlight Mikel [Oyarzabal] because he made the difference once again. We are two very similar teams that want to dominate possession and play with their own identity. In the end, the difference came down to the details, and that’s how the goal came about.”
Portugal left questioning
Whilst Spain will head back to Southern California, Portugal will leave with plenty of what-ifs.
- What if they had topped their group by beating DR Congo and/or Colombia
- What if they had never appointed Martinez?
- What if they had actually played Gonçalo Ramos — the hero against Croatia — instead of sitting him on the bench vs. Spain?
Both Spain and Portugal will return to the 2030 World Cup as cohosts. But whilst Portugal will still be searching for their first-ever appearance in a World Cup Final, Spain might very well have a second star on their badge by the time that tournament rolls around.
