A bola also noted that Martinez had told broadcaster RTP before the tournament he believed strongly in the numerology of the number 6; Portugal was eliminated on the 6th, by a goal from Spain’s No. 6, Merino.

A separate A Bola opinion column, headlined “Cristiano Ronaldo: we don’t want to ‘kill’ you, but enough”, put the blame for the exit on head coach Roberto Martinez by name, not on Ronaldo. It called the decision to leave Goncalo Ramos, the match-winner against Croatia, on the bench throughout “the cherry on top of the horror show,” and argued Martinez has been “a diplomat chosen by the federation to smile while the house burns.” It invoked Portugal’s 2006 World Cup squad, Deco, Luis Figo, Maniche, Costinha, Nuno Gomes among others, as a generation it says genuinely “honoured Portugal” in its own last World Cup appearance.

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Radio station Radio Renascenca ran a sharper, more forensic version of the same argument, building its case on the numbers rather than the sentiment: “Cristiano Ronaldo touched the ball 19 times, carried it six times for a total of 31.5 metres. He shot three times without danger.” It asked directly: “If he doesn’t press or defend the way non-contributors do, why can’t the national team’s captain be substituted?”, naming past Portuguese strikers who would have been dropped for similar output. But it also broke from A Bola’s harder line, adding a note of real nuance: “Being demanding of Cristiano Ronaldo is respecting the legend. Blind reverence only punishes the legend.”

Not every dressing-room voice matched the press’s tone. Goalkeeper Nelson Semedo said the Portuguese public should be thanking Martinez. Diogo Costa, more rueful, said he’d trade the performance for a win, that luck was missing.

Diario de Noticias took the most tactical, least emotional line of any Portuguese outlet, naming Diogo Costa Portugal’s best player of the tournament and criticising the decision to substitute midfielder Vitinha, who it said “didn’t deserve to be taken off,” ahead of Bernardo Silva.

A Bola also ran its own video segment the same night under the headline “Ronaldo didn’t speak to teammates after the Spain defeat.” Journalist Gary Al-Smith, posting separately, quoted Ronaldo explaining the silence directly: “I didn’t say anything. The coach is the one who spoke. It wasn’t me.”

Martinez himself addressed the Ramos question directly in comments to ESPN: “When you’re a team and you need a goal you can’t take Cristiano Ronaldo off… In extra time it probably would have made sense to use Goncalo Ramos.” Extra time never arrived, since Merino’s goal came in the first minute of stoppage. Martinez also had warm words for his captain: “He’s been an exemplary captain… an icon in football. There aren’t many Cristiano Ronaldos.”

Martinez confirmed his own departure in the post-match press conference: “It’s certain this was my last game for Portugal. I want to thank the Portuguese people. I’m taking a memory for life with me.” Portuguese outlets reported that Jorge Jesus, 71, previously at Al Nassr, is the federation’s choice to succeed him, tasked with the Euro 2028 and 2030 World Cup cycle, the latter co-hosted by Portugal, Spain and Morocco.

One small piece of on-field texture from the Spanish side: Spain’s Rodri, named man of the match, publicly apologised to his former Manchester City teammate Bernardo Silva after the match, over a heated exchange, Bernardo had missed a clear equalising header, and Rodri’s celebration of the miss provoked a finger-pointing confrontation between the two before the final whistle sealed Spain’s win.