Portugal midfielder Bruno Fernandes, on Thursday, came out with a public statement for the first time since returning to his country, following their round of 16 exit in the FIFA World Cup.
“Sad, frustrated, and disillusioned. This group of players made my expectations high, not only for the quality, but also for the incredible group that we built over these years,” Fernandes wrote on social media.
“Thank you to all the players, the technical team, and all the staff who accompanied and helped us every day during the World Cup. To all the Portuguese, a huge thank you for your support and belief.”
Fernandes, who assisted 23 goals and scored nine times for Manchester United last season, won the Premier League Player of the Year 2025-26. However, he had a subdued performance in the World Cup, with just a single assist in five of their games in the tournament.
In the round of 16, Spain rode on a late winner as Portugal, the Nations League champion, bowed out in the pre-quarterfinal. Fernandes did not hold back after the match.
“There’s no point in talking about it now because we’re out of the World Cup, but it was a missed opportunity. Every opportunity is a missed one because when we reach a World Cup, everyone wants to win. We’re no different - it’s been the same in every World Cup Portugal has participated in - but it was a missed opportunity,” he said after the match.
“Obviously, we were eliminated by a great team - we lost to one of the favourites to win the World Cup, just as we were ourselves. The overall assessment can’t be positive - it would only be if we’d made it to the end, and we didn’t.
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Published on Jul 10, 2026