Roberto Martinez didn’t talk loudly. He did not need to. In the post-match press conference, a Portuguese reporter suggested that Portugal’s 0-0 draw against Colombia should, in a fair result, have been a defeat, and asked how a positive assessment was even possible. The Portugal manager responded with brevity. “Your evaluation is not positive,” he said. What followed was a calm, methodical dismantling of the reporter’s premise.

“We need different games to reach the maximum level. Winning or losing today is not the time to have an idea if it helps to win the World Cup or not. If our goal is to play eight games, the path for us makes no difference,” he said (translated from Portuguese). 

“The opponent has quality. It was a very open game. Probably more open than we want. Colombia uses the transition very well and the aspects of duels.”

The match at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami finished goalless, with Colombia finishing top of Group K with seven points and Portugal second with five. Colombia created the more dangerous opportunities on the night, registering 26 attempts to Portugal’s 13, with six on target to Portugal’s two. Portuguese captain and striker Cristiano Ronaldo made one of those shots. The team relies on him to get the scoreboard ticking; he was just able to get one shot under his belt in the entire 90 minutes and had a match rating as low as 4.5 in some publications.

Davinson Sánchez thought he had won it for Colombia with a far-post header in injury time, only for VAR to rule it out for offside by the narrowest of margins. The reporter’s argument that Portugal was lucky, that they were happy just to draw, and that Diogo Costa was the only one who got them out of this one was not entirely wrong. Martinez’s rejection of the premise was not a denial. It was a redirect.

Portugal’s MVP at the FIFA World Cup 2026

The one figure he was genuinely enthusiastic about was Diogo Costa. The Man of the Match was the Porto goalkeeper, who, throughout the 90 minutes, made a total of six saves, two of which he made from inside the box, and had the highest match rating across teams, 7.5. 

“Diogo Costa’s performance is fantastic. For us to see the level of Diogo Costa is very important,” Martinez said. It was one section of his press conference where he was able to get genuine satisfaction from the deflection. The first half of the match had the most expected goals of any draw (1.38xG) without a goal in the 2026 World Cup, which makes Costa’s shoutout even more impressive. Martinez’s wider statement that the night was a good learning curve also makes it understandable.

Portugal is now poised to take on Croatia on July 2nd in Toronto in the Round of 32 of the tournament, which Martinez presented as the one that counts. Croatia finished second in Group L after a 2-1 victory over Ghana, with Nikola Vlasic heading in Luka Modric’s 83rd-minute corner. They are an experienced knockout-round side. The reporter who posed the question about the evaluation to Martinez will be watching. So will the rest of the world.