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The Seleção breezed through their qualifying pool as group winners, defeating Czech Republic 2-1 and Turkey 3-0 before a concerning slump on Matchday 3 against Georgia.
This UEFA tournament in Germany has already thrown up numerous surprises heading into the knockout rounds, no more so than Georgia’s 2-0 victory over Portugal on Wednesday. Georges Mikautadze teed up Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s early opener before himself coolly converting from the penalty spot in the second half at Arena AufSchalke.
That victory marked Georgia’s first-ever win at a major tournament and a maiden place in the knockout stages for Willy Sagnol’s men, while ending Portugal’s 12-match winning streak in competitive action.
Martínez will still be confident, however, as Portugal haven’t lost back-to-back competitive games since Euro 2008 when a 2-0 group-stage defeat to Switzerland followed a 3-2 quarter-final loss against Germany. Portugal also currently hold the record for the biggest margin of victory in a round-of-16 game at a major tournament, hammering Switzerland 6-1 at the FIFA World Cup in 2022. Yet their knockout form has been on a downward spiral.
Since pipping France to the Euro 2016 title in extra-time, Portugal have lost three of their four games in the knockout stages at major tournaments (W1).
That concerning record and the woeful returns of star striker Cristiano Ronaldo leaves Martínez with considerations to ponder. Indeed, Ronaldo hasn’t scored in any of his last seven appearances for Portugal at major tournaments, his longest such drought across the European Championship and World Cup.