Former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho has taken a major swipe at Portugal’s below-par displays following their Euro 2024 exit.
The new Fenerbahce manager was unhappy with his country’s performance. Roberto Martinez’s team was knocked out by France in the quarter-finals after a penalty shootout.
Mourinho said Portugal’s Euro 2024 campaign “didn’t smell good,” with Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates only reaching the quarter-finals.
Portugal’s team was full of stars and was expected to do well in Germany. Roberto Martinez hoped to repeat Fernando Santos’s success from 2016 when Portugal won the European Championship in France.
However, France defeated Portugal on penalties, ending Ronaldo’s last European Championship without him scoring a goal. Ronaldo, now 39, must decide on his international future.
Mourinho thinks Portugal will be stronger for the 2026 World Cup and possibly still have Ronaldo.
He told Sport TV as per DailyMail, “There is always frustration when you feel that you could do better. The team’s potential was extremely high. I wasn’t far off the mark when I said that Portugal, France, and England were the favourites. Two of them are in the semi-finals.
“Spain is the biggest surprise for me, in the way the team has evolved, they are practically a new team. For me, at the moment, they are the team that plays the best and the one that has played the best throughout the tournament.
“Portugal wasn’t fantastic, despite reaching the quarter-finals. We expected more. I was at the National Stadium for the Portugal-Croatia [friendly] match and it didn’t smell good. I didn’t get a great feeling.
“During the tournament, we were the team that was making progress, but we weren’t convincing. Often, when the moment of truth comes, these teams are stronger. This wasn’t the end of Portugal, there wasn’t any improvement in the team.
“But it’s a young team, apart from the two veterans [Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe], a team with years ahead of them. The World Cup is just around the corner.”
Next up for Portugal is the Nations League, starting in September. Ronaldo has hinted he will be part of that campaign, having earned 212 caps and scored 130 goals for his country.