Martinez backs Portugal as genuine World Cup contenders after Nations League title

Roberto Martinez has declared Portugal genuine World Cup contenders, citing their Nations League victory as proof that his side can compete with — and beat — the world’s best, as the team prepares to open their campaign on Wednesday.

The former Swansea, Wigan and Everton manager, who replaced Fernando Santos in January 2023, told FourFourTwo that the speed of Portugal’s development has even surprised him. When he took charge, key figures such as Vitinha, Nuno Mendes, João Neves, Pedro Neto and Chico Conceição were not yet part of the squad. All five have since become established starters.

“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,” Martinez said. “The fact that Portugal does it with a population of 10 million says everything about the quality of the entire system.”

Portugal have never reached a World Cup final, and Martinez stopped short of naming his side outright favourites. But he is clear that the psychological shift triggered by Euro 2024 — where Portugal were eliminated on penalties by France in the quarter-finals — proved decisive in what followed.

“I’m convinced that match won us the Nations League,” he said. “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.”

That conviction carried Portugal through a Nations League campaign in which they defeated both Germany and Spain — results Martinez views as significant psychological preparation for this summer’s tournament.

“The distance between being close to winning and actually winning is very small in physical terms, but very large in psychological weight,” he added. “We have the quality, the recent tournament experience, and now the proof that we can win.”

With a squad blending established stars and a wave of elite young talent, Portugal enter the World Cup as one of the more complete sides in the competition — and, under Martinez, one with a growing belief that this summer could finally be their moment.