Portugal will arrive at World Cup 2026 in a rare role for them — as the first seed in Group K, favorites on paper, and a team whose core made it through the 2025 Nations League final. This is a generation that needs not only the drama of a star captain, but also to justify expectations accumulated since Euro 2016 — the country's first and only senior title to date.
On paper, Martínez has the strongest midfield lineup in Portugal's history: Vitinha and João Neves — PSG's defensive pairing, holders of the 2024/25 Champions League; Bruno Fernandes — Manchester United captain and the national team's best playmaker of the last five years; Bernardo Silva — Manchester City's number 10 with six Premier League titles. On the flanks of attack — Rafael Leão from Milan and Pedro Neto from Chelsea. In defense — Rúben Dias and António Silva in the center, João Cancelo and Nuno Mendes on the flanks.
Martínez after Belgium
Roberto Martínez took over Portugal in early 2023, immediately after the Qatar World Cup — and immediately after his own failure with Belgium, where the "golden generation" under him failed to reach the semifinals at any of four major tournaments. The appointment of the Spaniard to a national team he was not born into and never played for raised questions.
The answer is three years of statistics: 34 matches, 21 wins, an 18-match unbeaten run in 2024–25, a Nations League final appearance in 2025. Structurally — 4-3-3 with João Neves as the destroyer, Vitinha and Fernandes higher up, Félix or Bernardo Silva in a free number 10 role, Ronaldo at the tip.
The ghost of Jota
In July 2025, 28-year-old Diogo Jota — Liverpool's striker, a key link between Ronaldo and the left flank in previous formations — died in a car accident. His place in Martínez's system is effectively vacant: for the role of second forward / left inside, Gonçalo Ramos (PSG) and Bernardo Silva are now competing, the latter often having to push higher from midfield in the new system.
This is not only a tactical gap, but also an emotional burden for the group — Jota played with most of this squad from U-21 level and was among the closest players to Ronaldo in the dressing room.
A group with no obvious matches
The draw gave Portugal one match from the "must-win" category (Uzbekistan) and two potentially problematic ones: DR Congo at the start and Colombia away at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, where there will be many South American supporters. Colombia are third or fourth seeds, but with James Rodríguez, Luis Díaz and Luis Javier Suárez in attack — they're a knockout-stage caliber opponent, not a group-stage one.