"Oh Portugal, Portugal! What are you waiting for?"

1 — "We have some of the best players in the world, playing for the best teams in the world, but… we lack a cohesive team," a national team fan remarked at Terreiro do Paço, in a television interview after the match against Colombia. That statement perfectly encapsulates everything I aim to convey.

I hadn't yet had the opportunity to write about the National Team. Since I didn't do so in the World Cup preview, I unfortunately can't indulge in the usual words of dreams and expectations, as I'm writing this after the group stage has concluded and with the knockout phase looming.

2 — The first message I want to convey is how particularly irritating I find the triumphalism with which we approach each new international competition, learning nothing from past experiences. It was, after all, the Federation — the Federation itself! — that chose 'Portugal Will Deliver' as the motto for this campaign.

I know little about psychology, but enough to understand that when expectations are set sky-high, there's a 90% chance of falling short, even if everything goes remarkably well.

The FPF, which should be the first to want to relieve pressure from the squad, isolating them from additional demands, is instead the first to declare that the country expects them to win the tournament.

Even if it works out, it sets a terrible precedent. It reveals a lack of humility and a bit of common sense. And we, being the Latins that we are, all jumped on the bandwagon of maximum positivity, all believing this team was capable of anything… until the first game.

After the match against RD Congo, Portugal went from being the best team in the world to the worst, when in reality, they were neither before nor after.

A bit of serenity is sorely needed, although it must be said that the campaign the FPF saw fit to run contributed to creating such high expectations among the public.

3 — Returning to the team. I might have made one or two different choices, but the best players were called up. We have a group of players that theoretically places us, I'd say, among the top 5-7 favorites to win, but clearly, there are teams with much better conditions than Portugal to be champions. Even in that regard, 'Portugal Will Deliver' is hard to comprehend. But moving on.

Watching our national team play reminds me of the official Euro 84 song, performed by the great Herman José, which sang "let's go, gang, all in a brawl"… because that's exactly what we look like on the field.

There's no coherent play, no discernible tactical system. We play in a block, leaving Cristiano Ronaldo isolated, who, at present, isn't in a position to lead the attack alone, supplied by wingers.

Ultimately, there's a whole host of situations that are difficult to understand and, inevitably, leave us immensely disappointed.

We were led to expect so much, only to be delivered so little. But what's truly unsettling is the national coach's seemingly detached attitude towards all of this.

With a perpetually smiling demeanor, he tries to convince us of things different from what we see. We witness strenuous, poor, and largely unsuccessful performances, yet Martínez marvels at our displays and tells us we should be proud of this team.

There's a dangerous sense of detachment, from reality and from each other, which must obviously concern us.

Only they, the players on the field, can give us hope for a dignified journey. And one can have a dignified journey without winning. And in them, I trust. That's why I dedicate Jorge Palma's famous song to them.

4 — A final word for my club, which has announced the signing of a new coach: Tiago Margarido.

We've long known this to be an old passion of the previous president, now realized, bringing to Guimarães someone we all knew would eventually coach Vitória.

My best wishes to him, and a very important word for Gil Lameiras. The way he accepted returning to the B team (where he had done such excellent work) speaks volumes about Gil Lameiras' humility and character. And that cannot be forgotten.