India, June 9 -- It was in the media room of Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in December 2022 that Roberto Martinez said his time with Belgium was over. One month later, he was named Portugal coach which meant moving from one team whose performance had not matched potential to another. After Sunday's Nations League title that may be changing.

Portugal did not have outspoken players such as Kevin de Bruyne but they did have a Cristiano Ronaldo-sized problem when Martinez took charge. Martinez's predecessor Fernando Santos, in whose eight-year reign Portugal had won the 2016 European Championship and the 2018-19 Nations League, did not start Ronaldo in the knockout rounds of the Qatar World Cup. It led to Goncalo Ramos scoring a hattrick against Swi...