Portugal appoint former Everton boss Martinez

PORTUGAL have unveiled former Belgium, Everton and Wigan boss Roberto Martinez as their new manager.

The 49-year-old Spaniard succeeds Fernando Santos, who left the role after eight years when Portugal were knocked out in the World Cup quarter-finals last month. Martinez had himself just left Belgium, where his tenure ended in disappointment with a group-stage exit in Qatar. But Martinez had otherwise enjoyed success in his six years as Belgium boss, leading the country to No 1 in FIFA’s world rankings, third place at the 2018 World Cup and the Euro 2020 quarter-finals. Martinez said: ‘I am very excited to be here. The important thing is that we are very competitive. ‘Portugal must have the will to win everything and for that you need to be a modern team, with tactical flexibility.’ Portugal are in a Euro 2024 qualifying group with Bosnia, Slovakia, Iceland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein.