Spaniard Roberto Martinez has been appointed coach of the Portugal team, succeeding Portugal's Fernando Santos after leading Belgium from 2016 until his elimination from the group stage of the World Cup-2022, the Portuguese Federation announced on Monday. soccer.

The first challenge for the 49-year-old coach, whose contract duration has not yet been specified, will be to clarify the role of Cristiano Ronaldo who, after a controversial World Cup, has just offer a golden exile by joining the Saudi club of Al-Nassr.



"My starting point will be the group of 26 players who played in the World Cup, and Cristiano Ronaldo is one of them," Martinez told a press conference, adding cautiously that he will take his decisions "in the field" and "not in an office".

The Catalan had left the head of the Red Devils at the beginning of December by affirming that their early elimination at the World Cup was not the cause of his departure, decided according to him just before the tournament.

After a narrow victory against Canada (1-0), Belgium chained a defeat against Morocco (2-0) and a draw against Croatia (0-0).

Mourinho has not been contacted

Martinez took charge of Belgium in 2016, after the traumatic elimination in the quarter-finals of the Euro against Wales.

Under his leadership, the team reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, beaten by France who would win the tournament, and was for more than three years at the top of the FIFA world rankings.

The Portugal team is also emerging from a long period of stability after eight years under the leadership of Fernando Santos, who offered them the first major titles in their history: Euro-2016 and the first edition of the League of nation in 2019.

When the 68-year-old coach announced his departure, five days after the elimination of the Seleçao in the quarter-finals of the World Cup-2022 against Morocco (1-0), the Portuguese press reported that the federation wanted to hire his compatriot José Mourinho, under contract with AS Roma.

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