In December 2022, Roberto Martinez declared the end of his tenure with Belgium in the media room of Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium. He was appointed Portugal coach a month later, switching from one squad that had not lived up to its promise to another. The Nations League championship, which took place on Sunday, might be changing things.

Although Portugal lacked outspoken players like Kevin de Bruyne, Martinez faced a problem comparable to that of Cristiano Ronaldo upon taking over. Ronaldo was not in the starting lineup for the knockout rounds of the Qatar World Cup under Martinez's predecessor, Fernando Santos, who led Portugal to victory in the 2016 European Championship and the 2018–19 Nations League during his eight-year rule. As a result, Goncalo Ramos scored a hat trick against Switzerland. However, Morocco triumphed, and Ronaldo left the game in tears.

After Portugal defeated Spain 5-3 in a penalty shootout following a 2-2 draw in regular time, Ronaldo wept tears once more on Sunday in Munich, this time with joy. He had scored at the age of 40 years and four months to tie the game at 2-2 in the 61st minute. He had scored his 138th goal in his 221st international match, and he had remained on the field for almost the whole 90 minutes of regulation before Ramos took his place. The tables have turned. In order to guarantee that, Martinez stated upon joining that Ronaldo will be a part of his strategies.

There is little chance of things changing anytime soon. "A captain with the kind of experience he has is essential to create the values and to show personality," Martinez remarked following his first trophy since winning the FA Cup with Wigan in 2013.

Prior to scoring, Ronaldo hadn't had a single shot on goal, and he appeared to be a step behind the others on the field. However, he twice stole from Lamine Yamal, including once when he tracked back to deprive the Spaniard who was born when Ronaldo had 46 international caps. In the semi-final, Ronaldo had scored against Germany, and he has eight goals in the last nine Nations League games.

As the current European champions, Spain had a strong command of the ball and was able to attack directly. In the 15th minute, they scored when a long ball from central defender Dean Huijsen sliced through Portugal and located Nico Williams, who unleashed to Pedri, whose shot lacked the necessary bend. However, their first goal came in the 21st minute via a team effort that included Mikel Oyarzabal and Yamal, with Martin Zubimendi initiating and concluding the play. With halftime approaching, Spain scored once again by pushing forward through Pedri, with Oyarzabal timing his run perfectly to complete the play.

France and Portugal have recently demonstrated that Spain's defense can be breached, but Spain has made significant strides forward. Oyarzabal said, "We struggled more in the second half, we were tired." Bruno Fernandes told the RTL media team that "our fighting spirit and togetherness were decisive today" and that "we're very difficult to beat when we stay together like this."

Nuno Mendes was front and center for both of Portugal's goals. He scored the first with a screamer in the 25th minute, and after leaving Yamal in his wake, he set up Ronaldo for the second, albeit with a deflection from Robin le Normand.

Mendes is a left-back who occasionally held the position of Portugal's most advanced player. He attempted 16 passes in the last third, had the most successful dribbles for Portugal (4), and made the most entries into the opposition box.

Additionally, he ghosted by Yamal and used methods to neutralize him that few would use against the 18-year-old genius. Mendes prevailed in seven battles and five tackles. Mendes' season, which included four championships with Paris St-Germain (PSG), including the Champions League one week earlier in Munich, came to a perfect conclusion with his penalty conversion, his raking pass that found Bernardo Silva, his addition of numbers in the midfield, his run at Spain's defense alongside Rafael Leao, his crucial block in the 63rd minute that protected Pedri, and his connection with Vitinha.

The influence of PSG on Portugal's victory was clear in the ease with which Vitinha would fall into defense when Mendes bombed up and in the manner with which Joao Neves would jump into midfield. As it did in the 92nd minute, when Mendes and his fellow full-back Nestor Semedo came close to scoring together. Playing Neves, a midfielder, at right-back defensively didn't work, but Portugal was able to hold Williams at bay.

Despite the fact that the World Cup is just one summer away, Portugal has demonstrated grit and talent to be among the frontrunners. The PSG quartet is not the only group of young players in the roster; Ramos is 23, Vitinha is 25, Neves is 20, and Mendes is 22. It's easy to understand why things might get heated for Portugal's opponents in the USA when you consider the expertise of Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, and Bernardo Silva, the bench where Joao Felix and Diogo Dalot are unable to get minutes, the introduction of Leao in the 74th minute, and the introduction of Diogo Jota much later.

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