Martinez officially leaves Portugal job amid Jesus links

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Roberto Martinez has officially left his role as Portugal’s head coach following their World Cup exit, the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) has confirmed.

Martinez had already announced he would depart in the aftermath of Monday’s defeat to Spain, having taken the job in 2023 following six years in charge of Belgium.

Despite having one of the outstanding squads at the tournament, Portugal produced several flat performances in the United States before bowing out in the round of 16.

They finished second in Group K following draws with DR Congo and Colombia and then scraped past Croatia by a 2-1 scoreline in the last 32, with Josko Gvardiol having a potential equaliser disallowed for an offside in the build-up 13 minutes into stoppage time.

They were then beaten 1-0 by Spain in Atlanta, with Mikel Merino coming off the bench to score a 91st-minute winner. 

Martinez’s approach was criticised throughout the tournament, with 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo starting all five of their matches and playing 441 minutes – ever-present defender Renato Veiga was the only outfielder to play more.

Martinez was also slammed for withdrawing Paris Saint-Germain star Vitinha in the closing stages of the Spain game, and for leaving Goncalo Ramos – who scored the winner against Croatia – on the bench. 

Martinez led Portugal to their second Nations League title last year but also oversaw a quarter-final exit against France at Euro 2024. He won 30 of his 45 matches in charge overall (D9 L6), recording a 66.7% win rate.

In a statement, the FPF said: “The Portuguese Football Federation announces that this Wednesday, officially, the contractual connection with the national coach, Roberto Martinez, and his technical team ended.

“The Portuguese Football Federation issues thanks for all the professionalism and dedication shown by Roberto Martinez and his technical team in the last three-and-a-half years, a period marked by the conquest of the Nations League in 2025.

“The president of the Portuguese Football Federation is already working on hiring the future national coach, with the aim of continuing to promote the ambition and culture of victory that should always guide the national team in all competitions it plays.”

Portugal have been strongly linked with a move for Jorge Jesus after FPF president Pedro Proenca said Martinez’s successor must have experience of Portuguese football, though he noted there were “several possibilities” in their head coach search.

Portugal have lost or been eliminated from six of their last eight World Cup knockout-stage matches, having lost just one of their first five in the competition.

They did not have a single shot on target in the second half against Spain, only having five efforts overall after the interval, with two of those coming in stoppage time.

It remains to be seen whether Ronaldo will feature under Portugal’s next head coach, after he declared that he had played his final World Cup game on Monday.

1 – Cristiano Ronaldo scored as many goals in the FIFA World Cup knockout stages as Harry Maguire (one each).

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 7, 2026

Even if Ronaldo has ruled out playing at a home World Cup in 2030, he is yet to announce his international retirement, saying he will not make any “rash decisions” on his future.

Ronaldo scored three goals at this year’s World Cup – including his first knockout-stage strike from the penalty spot against Croatia – but he ended the tournament having attempted 17 shots without creating a single chance for a team-mate. That is the most by any player on record (since 1966) at a single World Cup.

Ronaldo is the only player to play at least 500 minutes across the 2022 and 2026 editions without successfully dribbling past a single opponent, while his eight total defeats at World Cups are the joint-most of any player, alongside Mathew Leckie, Son Heung-min, Antonio Carbajal and Hong Myung-bo.

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