Why World Cup favourites Portugal crashed out of tournament in disappointing fashion

One of the favourites for this World Cup was dumped out on Monday as Portugal were beaten 1-0 by Spain. 

Despite the superstars on display, the match failed to live up to the hype, and it took a goal in added time from Spain's Mikel Merino to break the deadlock and send their Iberian neighbours packing. 

Going into the tournament, many were backing Portugal to make a deep run with a team which contains the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Cristiano Ronaldo, Vitinha and Bernardo Silva. 

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However, as has been the case for the major tournaments following their win at Euro 2016, Portugal have failed to live up their potential and the same happened at this year's World Cup. 

But why did Portugal struggle on the big stage once more? DAZN News finds out. 

Ronaldo is no longer fit to be Portugal's leading man

He may be 41 years old, but Ronaldo continues to demonstrate immense pulling power with many fans at Portugal's matches attending purely to see him in action, and paying thousands of dollars to do so. 

However, many of his devoted followers will have left disappointed. Ronaldo has been someone who has held this exciting Portugal team back, and this tournament has at times painted him as a selfish player who is not willing to put his team first. 

Against Spain in the Round of 16, Ronaldo had little impact with just 12 touches in the first half, and then a further seven in the second. 

• Read next | Tactical analysis: How Spain's midfield patience finally broke Portugal's defensive resolve

For a player who at one time was a goal machine, Ronaldo now adds next to nothing to Portugal's attack, and he should have taken a step back a long time ago. 

With this World Cup being Ronaldo's last, he will have wanted to make a lasting impact, but after his performances at this tournament, it can only be described as underwhelming. 

Manager Martinez devoted too much time to Ronaldo instead of whole team

A new era is on the horizon for Portugal. In addition to Ronaldo's World Cup departure, a new manager will take charge after Roberto Martinez's exit. 

Since 2023, Martinez has been tasked with leading one of international football's most talented squads, but he has stumbled every time. 

Just like his Belgium tenure which saw him in charge of the country's 'Golden Generation', Martinez never knew his best team, and with Portugal he spent most of his time pleasing Ronaldo. 

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To the detriment of the team, Martinez would start Ronaldo in order to avoid any conflict between himself and one of football's biggest stars, and even when he did decide to take him off, Martinez would attempt to hide his decision among a raft of substitutions. 

The fact Martinez has fumbled the opportunity for success with two of international football's most talented squads has exposed him as a manager operating at the highest level, and for the Portuguese FA, they will view this Martinez period as an opportunity missed to add more major trophies to the locker. 

An underwhelming Portuguese attack

Portugal may have an impressive arsenal of attacking talent, but they failed to deliver.

The only big win came against Uzbekistan where Portugal won 5-0, and the statistics show an underwhelming team in front of goal. 

On average, Portugal were scoring just 1.6 goals per 90 minutes, positioning them 18th for the tournament and behind the likes of Sweden and Japan. This is simply not good enough for a team of Portugal's stature. 

When this team faced Spain, the attack looked scared to venture forward, with the only real threat coming from left-back Nuno Mendes, who also had to keep Lamine Yamal quiet. 

After being forced off in the 55th minute due to injury, any chance of Portugal causing serious problems for an in-form Spanish defence had all but vanished. 

The first priority for whoever takes charge of Portugal is to unlock this attack, the talent is there, it just needs someone who recognises this and will play to its strengths instead of being conservative and opting for damage limitation. 

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