'Gaffer', things are about to get complicated... very complicated

Far more than the result, it's the collective performance that's causing concern. Beyond Portugal shrinking after an early lead, the fact that Cristiano Ronaldo played 90 minutes and missed two goals he'd typically bury will fuel the more-than-expected pressure on the national team. Yes, because things are about to get much, much tougher. Coach Roberto Martínez has been in Portugal long enough to know that.

With the national team, we experience a complicated all-or-nothing relationship, especially regular football fans who, incidentally, only truly pay attention during these major competition finals. One moment we feel we have no chance, the next we believe we have players of sufficient quality to arrive at a World Cup as favorites.

Football history is replete with examples of teams that didn't win their opening match of a major tournament and still went on to lift the trophy. One of those is ours, coincidentally, as we well remember, it's only been ten years.

By the way: on both occasions Portugal drew their first World Cup match, they advanced from the group stage. But that will matter little now to those regular football fans, who are always more critical than the casual supporters.

A popular trend is to blame Cristiano Ronaldo, or his continued presence in the squad, for the team's shortcomings. There have been good games without him, of course, but there have also been recent good games with him.

While the world, generally speaking, continues to place the captain on a pedestal, many Portuguese (and even foreign fans/critics) demand three or four times more from him than from any other international player.

An English journalist wrote yesterday that CR7's performance was "embarrassing" for Martínez. It was indeed far from good, but how many of those who played can boast of having done much more?

The pressure, make no mistake, will increase exponentially in the coming days. From the outside in, certainly; it's up to the entire Portuguese delegation (and not just the coaching staff) to ensure it doesn't build from within, which could be fatal, as history has taught us.

The coach is right: more than thinking about a potential (and, let's be honest, improbable) title, it's crucial to focus on playing well now. And, above all, on beating Uzbekistan.