Pedro Martins, the Portuguese coach currently working in Qatar, has yet to see a team at a better level than Portugal in this World Cup.

Speaking to the press this Tuesday, after the victory against Uruguay, the coach of Al-Gharafa puts the Portuguese team at the level of the other candidates.

“After evaluating these two games, I really don’t want to be behind any selection. We have a team of great quality and conditions to be world champions. I see Portugal at the level of the other candidates”, he began by saying.

About the game against Uruguay, the coach highlights Diogo Costa: “There are players at a good level, others not so much. Diogo Costa yesterday was extremely important, he had an extraordinary performance. Bruno Fernandes had a very good game, but Diogo was perhaps most importantly. It had high quality interference at critical moments”.

In Portugal, Pedro Martins guided Espinho, Lourosa, Marítimo, Rio Ave and Vitória de Guimarães. He spent four seasons with Olympiacos in Greece before moving to Qatar.

The coach was at the stadium watching the victory over Uruguay and explains that the Cristiano Ronaldo brand has a very strong weight in the support of the team in Qatar.

“Ronaldo has great merit in the image of the national team. I was at the stadium and only 10% of the sponsors who cheered for Portugal were Portuguese. The national team had extraordinary results, but Ronaldo’s international image allows us to be so well known and the brand to be so strong I saw Indians, Pakistanis, Lebanese and people from all over the world with Portuguese flags and shirts and this is not normal”, he ends.

The national team has already secured qualification for the round of 16 and only needs a draw with South Korea to close the group in first place. The game kicks off at 15:00 next Friday, with a report on Renaissance and follow-up, to the minute, in rr.sapo.pt.