After defeat to Spain in the round of 16 at the World Cup, Roberto Martinez has stepped down from his post as Portugal manager with immediate effect.
“I came to Portugal to win the World Cup and I think that, without winning it, there’s no point in continuing,” Martinez told a press conference after the 1-0 loss in Dallas.
“The board and the president now have the opportunity to choose the new manager, my contract ends today. There isn’t much more to say.”
Martinez said there had been no final decision before the tournament but confirmed the Spain defeat was his last match in charge.
“Yes, it’s my last game for the national team,” he said. “I’m very proud… I’ve felt welcomed as just another Portuguese person, in a very warm way. It’s been a pleasure, a source of pride and a responsibility.”
“I take with myself the memories, and hope that Portugal has good memories in the three and a half years I was head coach of the team. It was the experience of my life.
“It had not been decided previously [that I would leave after the tournament]. I came with the goal to win the World Cup, and because I did not win, it does not make sense to continue.”
Brazilian FA football director Rodrigo Caetano said Carlo Ancelotti would remain in charge through the 2030 World Cup cycle after Brazil’s 2-1 defeat by Norway in the last 16 on Sunday extended the five-times champions’ wait for a sixth title to at least 28 years.
Erling Haaland scored twice at the New York/New Jersey Stadium to send Brazil home, triggering a fierce inquest into the team’s performance, Ancelotti’s decisions and the direction of Brazilian football.
For a country that measures football pain in four-year cycles, the finger-pointing began quickly. Much of it was aimed at Ancelotti, who had only one year to reshape a side who had drifted through three interim managers while the Brazilian FA waited for him to leave Real Madrid.
But Caetano told reporters the 67-year-old Italian, who extended his contract in May until the 2030 World Cup, would not be cast overboard after one storm.
Carlo Ancelotti watched on as Brazil made a tame exit from the World Cup
“He is our manager and will be throughout this cycle,” Caetano said.
“One of the main reasons we failed in this World Cup was not to have proper, stable guidance long term that would have prepared our national team the way it should for a World Cup and we cannot make the same mistake again.”
Ancelotti’s decisions, however, offered plenty of material for the post-mortem.
He was criticised for allowing midfielder Bruno Guimaraes to take an early penalty, which he missed, and for leaving 34-year-old duo Casemiro and Danilo on until the end of a match in which Brazil looked heavy-legged and short of ideas.
His introduction of forward Neymar midway through the second half also did little to alter the match, beyond the forward converting a penalty deep in added time to reduce the deficit.
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