Portugal national football team


The Portugal national football team represents Portugal in international men's football competition since 1921. It is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the governing body for football in Portugal.
Portugal's first participation in a major tournament finals was at the 1966 World Cup, which saw a team featuring Ballon d'Or winner Eusébio finish in third place. The next two times Portugal qualified for the World Cup finals were in 1986 and 2002, going out in the first round both times. Portugal also made it to the semi-finals of the UEFA Euro 1984 final tournament, losing 3–2 after extra time to the hosts and eventual winners France.
During this period, Portugal was not part of a group of teams that were candidates to win titles, but from 2000 until this present day, the team evolved, being present in all the final stages of major tournaments. This was in great part due to the production of several world-class players by Portugal, such as Luís Figo, Rui Costa, Ricardo Carvalho, and Cristiano Ronaldo who is counted among the best players in history. This golden generation helped Portugal reach the semi-finals of Euro 2000, losing 2–1 after extra time to eventual winners France, securing the second place at Euro 2004 Final after losing to Greece on home soil, as well as reaching the semi-finals of the 2006 World Cup losing to finalist France, after a penalty, ending in the fourth place after losing to 3–1 to hosts Germany, thus being the best result of the country in the World Cup since 1966. Despite losing many players of the golden generation, new players such as Fábio Coentrão, João Moutinho, Nani and Pepe helped the Portuguese reach the semi-finals of Euro 2012, losing to Spain in penalties, with Cristiano Ronaldo finishing as joint top scorer of the tournament with three goals.
In 2014, Fernando Santos was appointed as the new head coach for the national team. Two years later at Euro 2016, Santos brought Portugal its first ever major trophy, defeating hosts France 1–0 after extra time, with the winning goal scored by Eder. With the win, Portugal qualified and made its only appearance in the FIFA Confederations Cup held in Russia, where they finished in third place. Portugal hosted the brand new 2018–19 UEFA Nations League as well as winning the trophy, defeating the Netherlands 1–0, with the winning goal scored by Gonçalo Guedes, making it the second major tournament earned by the Portuguese in three finals.
Portugal is colloquially referred to as the Seleção das Quinas and has notable rivalries with Brazil, with whom they share many common cultural ties and with Spain—known as A Guerra Ibérica in Portuguese or The Iberean War in English, with the rivalry between two countries going back to 1581.
The team's home stadium is the Estádio Nacional, in Oeiras, although most of their home games are frequently played in other stadiums across the country. The current head coach is Fernando Santos and the captain is Cristiano Ronaldo, who also holds the team record for most caps and for most goals.

History

Early World Cup attempts

Portugal was not invited to the 1930 World Cup, which only featured a final stage and no qualification round. The team took part in the 1934 FIFA World Cup qualification, but failed to eliminate their Spanish opponents, aggregating two defeats in the two-legged round, with a 9–0 loss in Madrid and 2–1 loss in Lisbon for an aggregate score of 11–1.
In the 1938 FIFA World Cup qualification, the Seleção played one game against Switzerland in a neutral ground, held in Milan, losing 2–1 against the Swiss, ending qualification prospects. Because of the international conflict due to the World War II, there was no World Cup held until the 1950 competition and subsequently, the national team made very few games against other teams. A 10–0 home friendly defeat against England, two years after the war, still stands as their biggest ever defeat.

1950s and early 1960s

On the restart of games, the team was to play a two-legged round against Spain, just like in the 1934 qualification. After a 5–1 defeat in Madrid, they managed to draw in the second game 2–2 and so the qualification ended with a 7–3 aggregate score. While they did not qualify on the pitch, they would later be invited to replace Turkey, which had withdrawn from participating; however, Portugal too refused to participate.
For the qualification of the 1954 World Cup, the team would play Austria. The Austrians won the first game with a 9–1 result. The best the national team could do was hold the team to a goalless draw in Lisbon, and the round ended with a 9–1 defeat.
In the 1958 qualification, Portugal won a qualification match for the first time, 3–0 at home with Italy. Nevertheless, they finished last in the group stage that also featured Northern Ireland; only the first-placed team, Northern Ireland, would qualify.
The year 1960 was the year that UEFA created the European Football Championship. The first edition was a knock-out tournament, the last four teams participating in final stage that only featured one leg while the older stages had two legs. For the first round, the Seleção das Quinas won 2–0 against East Germany and 3–2 in Porto for the second leg, finishing with a 5–2 two-legged win. The quarter-final opponent was Yugoslavia. Despite winning the first game 2–1, they lost the second leg 5–1 in Belgrade, and lost 6–3 on aggregate.
England and Luxembourg were the 1962 FIFA World Cup qualification adversaries of the national team. Portugal ended second in the group, behind England. Like in the previous World Cup qualification, only the first in the group would qualify.
In the 1964 European Championship. Portugal played against Bulgaria in the first round. The Portuguese lost in Sofia and won in Lisbon. With the round tied 4–4, a replay was needed in a neutral ground. In Rome, Portugal lost 1–0.

1966 World Cup and 1970s

In the 1966 World Cup qualification, Portugal was drawn into the same group as Czechoslovakia, Romania and Turkey. They topped the group with only one draw and one defeat during all the six games and finally qualified for a FIFA World Cup, that year the final stage would be held in England. Notable results were both 1–0 away wins against Czechoslovakia and Turkey and a 5–1 home win against the Turks.
The team started out with three wins in the group stage where they were in Group C when they beat Hungary 3–1, Bulgaria 3–0, and two-time defending champions Brazil 3–1. Secondly, they beat surprise quarter-finalist North Korea 5–3, with Eusébio getting four markers to overturn a 3–0 deficit. Later, they reached the semi-finals where they were beaten by hosts England 2–1; in this game, Portugal would have played in Liverpool, but as England were the hosts, FIFA decided that the game should have been in London, which led the Portuguese team travel unexpectedly from Liverpool to London. It was rumoured that this had happened because of fear from English officials of the Portuguese performance and embarrassment if England lost in their own country with a debuting team. Portugal then defeated the Soviet Union 2–1 in the third place match for their best World Cup finish to date. Eusébio was the top scorer of the World Cup with nine goals.
In the Euro 1972 qualifiers, Portugal had to win its group that comprised the teams of Belgium, Denmark and Scotland. Portugal finished second to Belgium.
For the 1974 World Cup qualification stages, Portugal were unable to defeat Bulgaria in the decisive match, thus not qualifying. Portugal faced tough competition from the strong Poland team for the place in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. They finished second place, behind Poland.

Late 1970s until early 1990s

alongside Austria, Belgium, Norway and Scotland to fight for the first spot in the group, which would allow them to go to the final stage of UEFA Euro 1980. Portugal took third place.
playing for Portugal at the 2006 FIFA World Cup
For the 1982 qualification, the Portuguese team had to face Israel, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Sweden for the top two group places. Portugal finished in fourth place.
During the qualifying campaign for Euro 1984, Portugal was grouped with Finland, Poland and the Soviet Union. Portugal won the group with a win over the Soviet Union. Portugal ended in Group B, alongside Spain, West Germany and Romania. In the first two matches, they tied 0–0 and 1–1 against West Germany and Spain, respectively. A 1–0 win over Romania gave them second place in the group, to go through to the knockout stage, where they were matched against the hosts, France. The game was tied after 90 minutes and went into extra time; Portugal made the score 2–1, but France scored in the 114th and 119th minutes to eliminate Portugal 3–2 and go through to the final.
For the 1986 tournament, the Seleção played against Czechoslovakia, Malta, Sweden and West Germany for the two spots that would guarantee them a ticket to Mexico. Needing a win in the last game against West Germany in Stuttgart, Portugal won the game to become the first team to beat West Germany at their home ground in an official match. The team exited early in the group stages after a win and two losses. They started with a 1–0 win to England, but later were beaten by Poland and Morocco 1–0 and 3–1 respectively. Their staying in Mexico was marked by the Saltillo Affair, where players refused to train in order to win more prizes from the Portuguese Football Federation.
For the UEFA Euro 1988 the Portuguese team attempted to top their qualifying group in a group with Italy, Malta, Sweden and Switzerland; however, they finished in third.
The 1990 World Cup qualification was in a group along with Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Luxembourg and Switzerland, Portugal fought to get one of the first two spots of the group. Playing at home against Czechoslovakia, the game ended in a 0–0 allowing the East Europeans to get the second place.
During the draws for the Euro 1992 qualifying, the Netherlands, Greece, Finland and Malta were the other teams, ending in second behind the Dutch.
For the 1994 World Cup qualification, Portugal played in the same group as Estonia, Italy, Malta, Scotland and Switzerland for the two highest places. They ended in third behind Italy and Switzerland.

1995 to 2006: The golden generation

At the UEFA Euro 1996, Portugal finished first in Group D, and in the quarter-finals, they lost 1–0 to the Czech Republic. This team was known as the Golden generation, a group of youngsters who had won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 1989 and 1991 and were now leading the national senior squad; they also reached the semi-finals of UEFA Euro 2000 but were eliminated at the group stages of the 2002 FIFA World Cup despite high reputations.
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Portugal failed to qualify for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. In Euro 2000 qualifying, Portugal finished second in their group, one point short of first-placed Romania. However, after finishing as the top runner-up nation in qualifying, Portugal nonetheless secured passage to the tournament final stage. They then defeated England 3–2, Romania 1–0 and Germany 3–0 to finish first in Group A, then defeated Turkey in the quarter-finals. In the semi-final against France, Portugal were eliminated in extra time when Zinedine Zidane converted a penalty. Referee Günter Benkö awarded the spot kick for a handball after Abel Xavier blocked a shot. Xavier, Nuno Gomes and Paulo Bento were all given lengthy suspensions for subsequently shoving the referee. The final result was 2–1.
During 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying, Portugal won the group. Several problems and poor judgement decisions occurred during the preparation and tournament itself – shopping sprees by players were widely reported in the Portuguese press. Questionable managing choices and some amateurism, including the same lack of agreement on prizes. Portugal underachieved and ended third in its group stage, subsequently eliminated. Manager António Oliveira was fired after the World Cup. Portugal entered the tournament as favourites to win Group D. However, they were upset 3–2 by the United States. They then rebounded with a 4–0 smashing of Poland. Needing a draw to advance, they lost the final group game to hosts South Korea.
The next major competition, the UEFA Euro 2004, was held in Portugal. On the preparation, the Football Federation made a contract with Luiz Felipe Scolari to manage the team until the tournament ended. The Portuguese team entered the tournament being a favourite to win it.
The host nation lost the first game against Greece 1–2. They got their first win against Russia 2–0 and also beat Spain 1–0. They went on to play against England, in a 2–2 draw that went into penalties, with Portugal winning. Portugal beat the Netherlands 2–1 in the semi-final. They were beaten by Greece 1–0 in the final.
After the tournament ended, a lot of players belonging to the Geração de Ouro, abandoned their international footballing careers, with only Luís Figo remaining in the team, despite a temporary retirement.
The silver lining for Portugal was the emergence of Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo was selected in the UEFA Euro All Stars Team. While Portugal was playing in the competition, Scolari agreed in a new two-year deal with the Federation.
Portugal finished first in the qualifying round for the 2006 World Cup.
Portugal finished first place in Group D of the World Cup, with victories over Angola, Iran and Mexico.
Portugal defeated the Netherlands 1–0 in the Round of 16 in Nuremberg in an acrimonious match marked by 16 yellow cards, with four players sent off. Portugal drew 0–0 after extra-time with England, but won 3–1 on penalties to reach their first World Cup semi-final since 1966. Portugal lost 1–0 against France in the semi-finals. Portugal faced Germany in the third place play-off match in a 3–1 defeat.
Ultimately, the team won the "Most Entertaining Team" award for their play during the World Cup. Once again Scolari was asked to accept a new deal with the Federation that would maintain with as the manager until the end of the next competition.

2008 to 2014: Post Golden Generation and mixed results

For Euro 2008 Portugal finished second in qualification behind Poland, and won their first two group games against Turkey and the Czech Republic, although a loss to co-hosts Switzerland set up a quarter-final matchup with Germany which the team lost 3-2. After the tournament, Scolari left to take over at Chelsea. Afterwards, Carlos Queiroz was appointed as the head coach of the Portugal national team.
Portugal came second in the qualifying stages for the 2010 FIFA World Cup under Carlos Queiroz, then beat Bosnia and Herzegovina in a play-off, thereby reaching every tournament in the decade. A 19-match undefeated streak, in which the team conceded only three goals, ended with a loss to eventual champions Spain in the round of 16, 1–0. Queiroz was later criticised for setting up his team in an overly cautious way. After the World Cup, squad regulars Simão, Paulo Ferreira, Miguel and Tiago all retired from international football. Queiroz was banned from coaching the national team for one month after he tried to block a doping test to the team while preparing for the World Cup, as well as directing insulting words to the testers. In consequence, he received a further six-month suspension. Several media outbursts from Queiroz against the heads of the Portuguese Football Federation followed, which partly prompted his dismissal. Paulo Bento was appointed as his replacement at head coach.
Bento's team qualified for Euro 2012, They were drawn with Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands in a widely speculated "group of death". They lost their first game 0–1 to Germany, then beat Denmark 3–2. The final group stage match was against the Netherlands. After Van der Vaart had given the Dutch a 1–0 lead, Ronaldo netted twice to ensure a 2–1 victory. Portugal finished second in the group and qualified for the knockout phase. Portugal defeated the Czech Republic 1–0 in the quarter-finals with a header from Ronaldo. The semi-final match was against Spain. The game ended 0–0 and Portugal lost 4–2 on penalties.
In 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying, Portugal won 4–2 on aggregate in a play-off against Sweden with all four goals being scored by Ronaldo, and was drawn into Group G with the United States, Germany and Ghana. Their first match against the Germans was their worst-ever defeat in a World Cup, a 4–0 loss. They went on to draw 2–2 against the United States and won 2–1 against Ghana. However, the team were eliminated due to inferior goal difference to the Americans.

2016–Present: Fernando Santos era

Portugal began the Euro 2016 qualifiers with a 0–1 home defeat against Albania, which resulted in Bento being dismissed from his managerial post to be replaced by Fernando Santos in September 2014. Nevertheless, the team qualified and were placed in Group F alongside newcomers Iceland, Austria and Hungary; after drawing with all three they advanced into the knockout stage as the third-best third place team. Portugal beat Croatia 1–0 in the Round of 16 after a goal from Ricardo Quaresma in extra time, then defeated Poland 5–3 on penalties to reach the semi-finals. In the semi-finals they defeated Wales 2–0 in regulation time with goals from Ronaldo and Nani to reach the final at the Stade de France against hosts France. The early stages of the final saw Ronaldo limp off the pitch injured; substitute Eder scored the match's only goal in the 109th minute. Ronaldo won the Silver Boot, scoring three goals and creating three assists.
Following their Euro 2016 victory, Portugal participated in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. In their opening match, Portugal faced Mexico on 17 June, which ended in a 2–2 draw. Three days later, Portugal faced hosts Russia 1–0 winning effort, with the only of the match being scored by Cristiano Ronaldo. On 24 June, Portugal defeated New Zealand 4–0 to top their group and advance to the semi-finals of the competition. Ronaldo was also man of the match in all three of Portugal's group stage matches. Portugal was eliminated from the tournament after losing to Chile on penalties in the semi-finals. The Portuguese finished in third place, after defeating Mexico 2–1 after extra time.
In the 2018 FIFA World Cup preliminary draw, Portugal were placed in Group B along with Switzerland, Hungary, Faroe Islands, Andorra and Latvia. Portugal would only lose one match against Switzerland 2-0. However, Portugal got their revenge on their last group stage match defeating Switzerland 2-0, to top their group and qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
In the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Portugal were drawn into Group B with Spain, Morocco and Iran. In their opening match on June 15, Portugal were against Spain, which ended in a 3–3 draw, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a hat-trick. Ronaldo scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory against Morocco, breaking Puskás' record. Portugal faced Iran on 25 June, in their final group match, which ended in a 1–1 draw, leading Portugal to progress to the second round as group runners-up behind Spain. On 30 June, Portugal were eliminated following a 2–1 defeat to Uruguay in the last 16.
, who scored the winning goal against the Netherlands in the 2019 UEFA Nations League Final
Following the World Cup, Portugal was part of the inaugural UEFA Nations League, were the Seleção were placed in league A and were drawn into Group 3 with Italy and Poland. On 9 March 2018, UEFA announced that Portugal had expressed interest in bidding for the Nations League finals, which was later announced that the group winners would be appointed as the host. Portugal started the league defeating Italy in a home 1–0 victory, with André Silva scoring the match's only goal. In their second match, Portugal defeated Poland in a 3–2 away victory. In the two remaining matches, Portugal faced Italy and Poland in a 0–0 away draw and Poland 1–1 home, respectively, to advance to the Nations League finals, thereby automatically winning hosting rights, which were confirmed by the UEFA Executive Committee on 3 December 2018. In the semi-finals on June 5, 2019, Cristiano Ronaldo made his return to the team scoring a hat-trick against Switzerland to secure the host a spot in the final. Four days later, in the finals at the Estádio do Dragão in Porto, Portugal defeated the Netherlands 1–0, with the only being scored by Gonçalo Guedes in the 60th minute.
Portugal was drawn in Group B for UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying with Lithuania, Luxembourg, Ukraine and Serbia. Portugal drew its first home matches against Ukraine and Serbia, in a 0-0 and 1-1 draws respectively. In the next match, Portugal suffered a 2-1 away loss against Ukraine. Despite losing against Ukraine, Portugal managed to win their last away match against Luxembourg in a 2-0 away victory in Luxembourg City to finish second in their group, qualifying for the tournament. In the process, Fernando Santos overtook Luiz Felipe Scolari record as the coach of the Portugal national team with most victories. Santos' team qualified for Euro 2020, being drawn with France, Germany, and the Play-off winner A or D in a widely speculated "group of death".

Team image

Kits

Portugal's traditional home kit is mainly red with a green trim, reflecting the colours of the nation's flag. Over the years, the particular shade of red has alternated between a darker burgundy and a lighter scarlet. Both green and red shorts have been used to complete the strip.
The team's away kits, on the other hand, have varied more considerably. White has typically been preferred as a dominant colour, either with blue shorts, or red and green highlights. In recent times, all-black has been utilised, as has a turquoise-teal colour, the latter of which was prominently featured during the title-winning Euro 2016 campaign.

Media coverage

Portugal's qualifying, Nations League and friendly matches are broadcast by free-to-air public broadcaster RTP and pay-TV network Sport TV.

Coaching staff

Coaching history

Players

Current squad

The following 24 players were named to the squad for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying matches against Lithuania and Luxembourg on 14 and 17 November 2019 respectively.

Caps and goals are correct as of 17 November 2019, after the game against Luxembourg.

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Portugal squad within the last 12 months.
INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
PRE Preliminary squad.
RET Retired from international football.

Results and fixtures

2019

2020

2021

Statistics

Records

;Most goals scored in one World Cup : 9 – Eusébio
;Most goals scored in World Cup : 9 – Eusébio
;Most matches played in World Cup : 17 – Cristiano Ronaldo
;Most goals scored in one European Championship : 4 – Nuno Gomes
;Most goals scored in European Championship : 9 – Cristiano Ronaldo
;Most matches played in European Championship : 21 – Cristiano Ronaldo
;Oldest player: 38 years, 8 months and 3 days – Vítor Damas
;Oldest outfield player: 38 years, 1 month and 4 days – Ricardo Carvalho
;Oldest goalscorer: 36 years, 10 months and 11 days – Ricardo Carvalho
;Youngest debutant: 17 years, 6 months and 24 days – Paulo Futre
;Youngest goalscorer: 17 years, 9 months and 25 days – Fernando Chalana
;Longest national career: 17 years, 3 months and 5 days – Vítor Damas
;Longest national career for an outfield player: 16 years, 2 months and 27 days – Cristiano Ronaldo
;Youngest player to reach 100 caps: 27 years, 8 months and 11 days – Cristiano Ronaldo
;Most hat-tricks: 9 – Cristiano Ronaldo
;Most pokers: 2 – Cristiano Ronaldo
;Youngest player to score a hat-trick: 20 years, 11 months and 4 days – André Silva

Most capped players

#NameCapsGoalsFirst capLatest cap
1Cristiano Ronaldo1649920 August 200317 November 2019
2Luís Figo1273212 October 19918 July 2006
3João Moutinho121717 August 200517 November 2019
4Nani112241 September 20062 July 2017
5Fernando Couto110819 December 199030 June 2004
6Pepe108721 November 200714 October 2019
7Bruno Alves96115 June 20077 June 2018
8Rui Costa942631 March 19934 July 2004
9Ricardo Carvalho89511 October 200322 June 2016
10Pauleta884720 August 19978 July 2006

Top goalscorers

#NameGoalsCapsAverageFirst capLatest cap
1Cristiano Ronaldo 991640.6020 August 200317 November 2019
2Pauleta 47880.5320 August 19978 July 2006
3Eusébio 41640.648 October 196113 October 1973
4Luís Figo 321270.2512 October 19918 July 2006
5Nuno Gomes 29790.3724 January 199611 October 2011
6Hélder Postiga 27710.3813 June 200314 November 2014
7Rui Costa 26940.2831 March 19934 July 2004
8Nani 241120.211 September 20062 July 2017
9João Pinto 23810.3012 October 199114 June 2002
10Nené 22660.3321 April 197123 June 1984
10Simão 22850.2618 October 199829 June 2010

Competitive record

Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place

FIFA World Cup

UEFA European Championship

UEFA Nations League

FIFA Confederations Cup

Olympic Games

Football at the Summer Olympics has been an under-23 tournament since 1992.

Minor tournaments

Honours

Major:
Minor:
Other: