“If you don’t like suffering, I don’t think you should watch football” - Portugal boss Roberto Martinez hits back at journalist after Denmark win

Portugal manager Roberto Martinez fired back at a journalist following the side's 5-2 win over Denmark in the Nations League. Martinez's men had to rely on extra time to get past their Scandinavian opponents, prompting a question about the nature of the win.

Martinez said (via Portuguese outlet O Jogo):

"Did you suffer? [asks the journalist]. I enjoyed it. Because this is football, there are no easy games. Have you seen the other quarter-final games? Some went to penalties. That's football. Denmark played a good game, we were superior. We used different positions on the pitch in relation to the opponent, the moment of the game and the way the opponent changed as well. If you don't like suffering, I don't think you should watch football.

The Selecao had endured a 1-0 defeat in the first leg of this tie, with a goal from Rasmus Hojlund securing the win. Needing a result, they returned to the Estadio Jose Alvalade needing a win.

A closely fought match saw them take the lead twice through an own goal from Joachim Andersen and a strike from Cristiano Ronaldo, who also missed from the spot early on.

However, Denmark answered back each time, with Rasmus Kristensen and Christian Eriksen finding equalizers.

Needing a goal within regulation, Sporting's Francisco Trincao stepped up, scoring in the 86th minute to take it to extra time before adding another in the 91st to give Portugal the lead. Goncalo Ramos came off the bench to add another late on to make it 5-2 on the night and 5-3 on aggregate. They will now face Germany in the semis, who got the better of Italy.

Roberto Martinez opens up on choice of forward as Portugal complete big win over Denmark

Portugal manager Roberto Martinez insisted that both Cristiano Ronaldo and Goncalo Ramos were capable enough to lead the line for the side. Both the forwards found the back of the net in the side's 5-2 win over Denmark in the Nations League.

Following the game, Martinez said (via O Jogo):

"I saw the team as completely the same. Cristiano played a good game, Gonçalo played a good game. They are players with different characteristics and I didn't see much difference."

Eyebrows have been raised over the continued presence of the 40-year-old superstar in the national side, who has started the lion's share of their games recently. He notably had a forgettable Euros 2024 campaign, failing to find the back of the net a single time despite starting in all four of their games.

Ramos has been the player waiting to take over from Ronaldo. The Paris Saint-Germain attacker replaced the Al-Nassr icon once memorably, scoring a hat-trick in the 2022 World Cup knockouts. However, his recent form at club level has not been much to write about.