- Uday Partap Singh
Portugal’s national football team have appointed Roberto Martinez as their new manager as he replaces Fernando Santos, who left his position after the end of the FIFA World Cup 2022 campaign.
Portugal’s FIFA World Cup 2022 campaign came to an end in the quarter-finals as Morocco stunned the EURO 2016 winners. Morocco secured a 1-0 win over Portugal in the quarter-final and knocked the European heavyweights out of the competition in the process.
Portugal national football team had progressed to the round of 16 after finishing top of the points table in Group H. They also produced one of the best performances by any side at Qatar 2022 when they trounced Switzerland 6-1 in the round-of-16.
However, Fernando Santos could not guide his side beyond the quarter-final stage where Morocco triumphed over them.
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After their elimination from FIFA World Cup 2022, Portugal’s national football team parted ways with Fernando Santos, who had been occupying the position since 2014.
Portugal were in search of a new manager and a number of names were linked with the role. However, they have now confirmed the appointment of Roberto Martinez as their new manager.
Roberto Martinez was Belgium’s national football team’s manager between 2016 and 2022. He left his role as the Belgium manager after their disastrous performance at FIFA World Cup 2022.
Despite boasting a star-studded squad, Belgium failed to progress beyond the group stages at Qatar 2022. They finished third in Group F, behind Morocco and Croatia, and were eliminated from the World Cup at the group stage itself.
“I’m very happy to be here, I’m delighted to be able to represent one of the most talented teams in the world. the project I wanted. I understand that there are high expectations and goals, but I also understand that there is a large group of people working to fulfill our goals,” Roberto Martinez said in a press conference upon becoming the Portugal manager.
“The important thing is that we are a very competitive team. When I think about my international career, in six and a half years we were undefeated in 28 games for major tournaments. It is a way of making the team competitive. Portugal must always have the will to win everything and for that, you need to be a modern team, with tactical flexibility.”