Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal aim at World Cup run under Roberto Martinez; England need healthy Reece James

As Roberto Martinez prepares for his final tournament with Portugal, England relies on a fragile Reece James to bolster their World Cup charge

Jun 17, 2026 at 9:00 am ET • 8 min read

The first round of games for group stage of the World Cup is almost over. What a ride we've had! Ecuador suffer-balling their way through 89 minutes in Philadelphia, who'll forget? I suppose Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi putting the competition on notice and Cabo Verde delivering one of the great upsets in history were also quite good moments.

Now it's the turn of two of the final inner contenders. England will be out for yet more revenge on Croatia, who beat them in the 2018 semifinal, and should expect to establish a proper foothold on Group L if they are to fulfil their dreams of ending 60 years of hurt. Before then, it's the turn of Portugal, whose group looks like it might be a fiddly one, starting with DR Congo before games against Uzbekistan and Colombia. It's the sort of moment where a little stability wouldn't go amiss. Aaah yes, about that...

Martinez and the managerial merry-go-round

Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday, Roberto Martinez did little to quell reports that this would be his final tournament in charge of the Portuguese national team. "It's not news," was his response to questions over his future, treating the matter as almost a fait accompli. When he then proceeded to reel off his achievements over three and a half years in the club, it seemed all the clearer that these are Martinez's last days in the job.

"What I can point to is a very consistent campaign," he said of his time in charge. "We won the Nations League -- the most demanding edition yet. We played ten matches, advanced through the knockout rounds, defeated Germany in Germany, and then won the final against Spain. Those are significant achievements. 

"When I arrived in Portugal, the objective was to try to win everything possible every day, but above all to prepare for the World Cup. Now we are here, 40 matches later, after winning the Nations League, and the focus remains exactly the same: The World Cup is what matters."

Whether having a manager who appears out of the door will aid or hinder Portugal probably does not become clear until the tournament is done. For every example of a team perturbed by insecurity in the dugout there is a Bobby Robson in 1990 or an Aime Jacquet in 1998. The initial instinct is that Portugal have rarely needed much of an invitation to go off the rails at major tournaments and this is dicing unnecessarily with intangibles.

The other question is why Martinez might choose not to renew his contract with Portugal. At 52, the period where the former Swansea and Everton manager might be in contention for the game's top jobs has gone. Martinez made a home for himself in England, where he spent much of his playing career, and if his sights are set at the lower end of the Premier League, he might not have to wait long to find a vacancy. Then again that doesn't feel like a natural landing spot for a coach who has managed some of the game's biggest talents over a decade in the international game with Belgium and Portugal.

As he noted, his tenure has been largely successful. That is not nothing when he has had to deal with the last embers of Cristiano Ronaldo's light. Like many coaches before him, he has felt compelled to construct a team around this most particular of forwards, one whose status in his homeland will never be dimmed. Eventually, however, the 41-year-old from Al-Nassr will call it quits. Wasn't the fun part of this job to build post-Ronaldo Portugal, hardly the most arduous task when the building blocks of that team might be Vitinha, Joao Neves and a veteran Bruno Fernandes?

Can Reece James hold up for a whole tournament?

The loss of Tino Livramento on the eve of the tournament need not be a serious issue for England. While the Newcastle right back, expected to miss six weeks with a calf issue, is a very promising young option, he had long since been established as the deputy for Reece James. If he were backing up your average player you might expect Livramento to get a start in the third group stage game if that were a dead rubber and maybe log a few other minutes here or there.

James, however, is no average player. We'll come to the good, of which there is plenty. The worry is how often those qualities can be exploited on the field. Since Christmas Eve 2020, the Chelsea right back has spent time on the sidelines with nine separate hamstring issues, missing a combined 66 games just for issues on those muscles. There have been plenty of others on his thigh, hip and knee. James is an exceptional athlete, a one-man right flank at his best, but the brilliance of his early years in particular, many of them under Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea, took a lot out of his body.

The back end of what had largely been an encouraging 2025-26 season on the fitness front was blotted by a hamstring issue that momentarily had Tuchel sweating on James' involvement at the World Cup. He is, however, back and insistent he can go the whole way. "I can play three 90s a week," the Chelsea captain said last week. "I came back at the end of last season, I played in the last few games, and I'm feeling good."

If James is true to his word then England become a much better side. There has been much hooting and howling over Tuchel's sidelining of Trent Alexander-Arnold, the greatest playmaking right back the game has ever seen. It is a decision that becomes more defensible if the other option is James at the peak of his power, an outstanding passer who is much more solid defensively. The 26-year-old can do it all: bombing on down the flank when his winger cuts inside, stepping into midfield, getting shots, making a back three if his left back wants to move upfield.

Livramento might have offered an approximation of some of those skills if called upon without the defensive strength. It is clearly that which Tuchel valued, hence calling up center back Trevoh Chalobah rather than Alexander-Arnold or taking a swing at Manchester City's Rico Lewis or even a repurposed Curtis Jones of Liverpool. Calling up Chalobah means a slight rejigging of the pack, Bayer Leverkusen's Jarrel Quansah now as much a deputy right back as center back. Djed Spence had a better season than Tottenham's scrap against relegation from the Premier League might suggest he did, and he now profiles as first drop for both Nico O'Reilly on the left and James on the right.

Spence is a strong carrier and a willing defender. His versatility made him a strong option for the squad. For England's strongest XI? Well, it certainly wouldn't be as strong as it would be with James in it. Tuchel must hope that those hamstrings can just about hold on for the wild ride ahead.

Any more Khusanovs?

I've read all the previews. I've ingested the podcasts. The bar charts I've seen, things you people wouldn't believe. Still, I must confess to having not an earthly clue as to what to expect from Uzbekistan. Was it the luck of a relatively favorable draw in the third round of Asian qualifying that brought them here? A 2-1 defeat to the Dutch in a warm-up friendly looks alright until you see that the Netherlands dropped 4.62 expected goals on them, though that does include two penalties. Not great either way though, is it?

That the Under-23 team got to the 2024 Olympics hints there might be some burgeoning young talent for Fabio Cannavaro to work with. That they finished behind Egypt, Spain and the Dominican Republic in the group stage rather tempers any excitement you might have.

Does a team who have developed a reputation as Asian football's chokers feel the weight lifted off them against Colombia and rise to the moment? I just don't know.

What I do know is two of their players. Eldor Shomurodov is a staple of the let's name some guys sports bar chat, off the back of four years in Italy that no one can deny happened. He arrives at the World Cup having scored 23 in 44 games on loan at Istanbul Basaksehir, so he evidently arrives at this competition in a good moment. 

The more exciting player, though, is surely Abdukodir Khusanov. At 22, the center back is some way from being the finished product, but the leaps and bounds he has taken since a shaky debut for Manchester City in January 2025 have been remarkable. It helps that he has the most valuable of raw attributes in the modern game: pace to burn. 

According to Gradient Sports, Khusanov topped out at 34.52 km/h in the Premier League this season, the fastest of any center back in England and 15th fastest overall. In Europe's top five leagues there are only four quicker center backs. It is easy to see him eventually morphing into Kyle Walker's old role at Manchester City, something of a free safety who mops up behind when the opposition launch counters over the top. Then his ball progression and passing have improved such that he ranks well above his positional average in Europe's top five leagues as a passer and carrier. With so many years ahead of him, the tools are there to craft a fine defender.

Might there be a few more Khusanovs lurking in the Uzbekistan squad? The pre-tournament bible that is World Soccer says Abbosbek Fayzullaev, who scored four and assisted seven with Istanbul Basaksehir last season, is one to watch. Bekhruz Karimov spent time on trial at Queens' Park Rangers and, at 18, is one of the youngest players at the tournament. Might he earn himself a move? I have no clue at all. How exciting!