ThePortugal national football team (Portuguese:Seleção Portuguesa de Futebol) has representedPortugal in men's internationalfootball competition since 1921. The national team is controlled by thePortuguese Football Federation (FPF), the governing body forfootball in Portugal. Portugal's home stadium is theEstádio Nacional inOeiras, located next to its primarytraining ground and the FPF headquarters (Cidade do Futebol), but the team generally plays its home matches in stadiums across the country. The head coach isRoberto Martínez,[3] and the captain isCristiano Ronaldo, who holds the team records for most caps and most goals.
Portugal's first participation in a major tournament finals was at the1966 World Cup, which saw a team featuringBallon d'Or winnerEusébio finish in third place. Portugal also made it to the semi-finals of theUEFA Euro 1984, losing to the hosts and eventual winnersFrance. After missing out the1998 World Cup, Portugal qualified for theEuro 2000 and started an uninterrupted streak of qualification for every European Championship and World Cup finals. In this run, Portugal finished fourth at the2006 World Cup and runners-up at theEuro 2004, which they entered as hosts, and reached the semi-finals of theEuro 2000 andEuro 2012. This was in great part due to the production of several world class players, such as Ballon d'Or winnersLuís Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo.[4][5]In 2016, Portugal won its first-ever major trophy by defeating hosts France in theEuro 2016final. With this win, the team qualified for and made its only appearance in theFIFA Confederations Cup,held in Russia, where they finished in third place. Portugal then qualified for and hosted thefirst finals of theUEFA Nations League in2019, where it defeated theNetherlands to earn their second major title. Six years later, Portugal won its second Nations League and third overall title after defeating theincumbent Nations League andEuro 2024 title holdersSpain in the2025 final inMunich.
Portugal is colloquially referred to as theSeleção dasQuinas (a synecdoche based on the flag of the country) and has several notable rivalries with other national teams. These includeBrazil, due to their shared history and close cultural ties;[6] Spain, due to their historical rivalry as Iberian neighbours;[7] and France, due to several high-stake meetings between both teams at the Euro and World Cup.[8]
Portugal were not invited to the1930 World Cup, which only featured a finals stage and noqualification round. The team took part in the1934 FIFA World Cup qualification, but failed to eliminate their Spanish opponents, aggregating two defeats in the two-legged round, with a 9–0 loss inMadrid and 2–1 loss inLisbon for an aggregate score of 11–1.[9][10]
In the1938 FIFA World Cup qualification, theSeleção played one game against Switzerland held in neutral ground inMilan. They lost 2–1 and failed to qualify for the finals.[11] TheSecond World War delayed the World Cup until1950 and subsequently, the national team rarely played.[12] A 10–0 home friendly loss againstEngland, two years after the war, still stands as their biggest ever defeat.[13]
1950s and early 1960s
Similar to 1934, Portugalwere to play a two-legged round againstSpain. After a 5–1 defeat in Madrid, they managed to draw the second game 2–2. With a 7–3 aggregate score, they did not qualify on the pitch, however they would later be invited to replaceTurkey, which had withdrawn from participating. Portugal refused to participate.[14][15]
In1954 FIFA World Cup qualification, the team would playAustria; the Austrians won the first game with a 9–1 result.[16] The best the Portuguese could do was hold the Austrians to a goalless draw in Lisbon, resulting in a 9–1 aggregate defeat.[17]Four years later, Portugal won a qualifying match for the first time, a 3–0 home victory overItaly. Nevertheless, they finished last in a group that also featuredNorthern Ireland; only the first-placed team, Northern Ireland, would qualify.[18]
1960 was the year that UEFA created theEuropean Championship. Thefirst edition was a knock-out tournament with the last four teams participating in the finals stage that only featured one leg while the earlier stages had two legs. In the first round, theSeleção das Quinas won 2–0 atEast Germany and then 3–2 inPorto, advancing with a 5–2 two-legged win.[19][20] Portugal faced Yugoslavia in the quarter-finals, losing 6–3 on aggregate.[21]
Portugal were drawn withCzechoslovakia,Romania and Turkey for1966 World Cup qualification.[24] They topped the group with only one draw and one defeat in six games and finally qualified for a FIFA World Cup, with a 1–0 away win against Czechoslovakia and Turkey and a 5–1 home win against the Turks being notable results.[24]
At the World Cup, the team started out with three wins in the group stage after they beatHungary 3–1,[25] Bulgaria 3–0, and two-time defending championsBrazil 3–1.[26] Secondly, they beat quarter-finalistsNorth Korea 5–3, withEusébio getting four markers to overturn a 3–0 deficit.[27] Later, they reached the semi-finals where they were beaten by hosts England 2–1; in this game, Portugal would have played inLiverpool, but as England were the hosts, FIFA decided that the game would be played in London.[28] Portugal then defeated theSoviet Union 2–1 in the third place match for their best World Cup finish to date.[29] Eusébio was the top scorer of the World Cup with nine goals. Portugal would not qualify for another World Cup for 20 years.
1980s
Portugal won theirEuro 1984 qualifying group that containedFinland, Poland and the Soviet Union with a win over the latter,[30][31] allowing them to qualify and be placed in Group B alongside Spain,West Germany and Romania in the finals.[32] In the first two matches, they drew 0–0 and 1–1 against West Germany and Spain, respectively.[32] A 1–0 win over Romania resulted in a second-place finish in group play. Portugal were paired against hostsFrance in the semi-finals.[32] After a draw in regular time, Portugal initially led 2–1 in extra time, but the hosts scored in the 114th and 119th minutes to eliminate the Portuguese 3–2 and go through to the final.[32]
For 1986 World Cup qualification, theSeleção played against Czechoslovakia,Malta, Sweden and West Germany for the two spots that would guarantee them a ticket to Mexico.[33] Needing a win in the last game against West Germany inStuttgart, 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.[34] They started with a 1–0 win against England,[35] but later were beaten by Poland andMorocco 1–0 and 3–1 respectively.[36][37] Their staying in Mexico was marked by theSaltillo Affair, where players refused to train in order to win more prizes from thePortuguese Football Federation. Mexico marked their last World Cup appearance until 2002.
Portugal failed toqualify for the1998 FIFA World Cup. InEuro 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 a spot in the finals. They then defeated England 3–2, Romania 1–0 and Germany 3–0 to finish first inGroup A, then defeated Turkey in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals against France, Portugal were eliminated in extra time whenZinedine Zidane converted apenalty. RefereeGünter Benkö awarded the spot kick for a handball afterAbel Xavier blocked a shot. Xavier,Nuno Gomes andPaulo Bento were all given lengthy suspensions for subsequently shoving the referee.[38] The final eventually finished 2–1.
During2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying, Portugal won the group.[39] Several problems and poor judgement decisions occurred during the preparation and tournament itself and were widely reported in the Portuguese press,[39] including questionable managing choices and some amateurism, as well as lack of agreement on prizes.[39] Portugal entered the tournament as favourites to win Group D.[39] However, they were upset 3–2 by theUnited States.[39] They then rebounded with a 4–0 victory over Poland.[39] Needing a draw to advance, they lost the last group game to hostsSouth Korea.[40] Portugal underachieved and ended third in its group stage, subsequently eliminated. ManagerAntónio Oliveira was fired after the World Cup.
Ronaldo, pictured playing againstGermany atEuro 2012, assumed the captaincy in the wake of Euro 2008.
The next major competition, theUEFA Euro 2004, was held in Portugal. For preparation, the Football Federation made a contract withLuiz Felipe Scolari to manage the team until the tournament ended.[41] The host nation lost the first game against Greece 1–2.[42] They achieved their first win againstRussia 2–0 and also beat Spain 1–0.[43][44] They went on to play against England, in a 2–2 draw that went into penalties, with Portugal winning.[45] Portugal beat the Netherlands 2–1 in the semi-finals,[46] and suffered a second defeat from Greece, 1–0, in the final.[47]
After the tournament ended, many players belonging to theGeração de Ouro (Golden Generation), abandoned their international footballing careers, with onlyLuís Figo remaining in the team, despite a temporary retirement.[48][49] The silver lining for Portugal was the emergence of Cristiano Ronaldo, who was selected in the UEFA Euro All-Star team.[50] While Portugal were playing in the competition, Scolari agreed in a new two-year deal with the Federation.
Portugal finished first in thequalifying round for the 2006 World Cup,[51] and topped Group D in the World Cup, with victories overAngola (1–0),Iran (2–0) andMexico (2–1).[52][53]Portugal defeated the Netherlands 1–0 in the Round of 16 in an infamous matched that has come to be known as theBattle of Nuremberg, marked by violent fouls and many playerscautioned orsent off by refereeValentin Ivanov.[54] Portugal drew 0–0 after extra time with England in the quarter-final, but won 3–1 onpenalties to reach their first World Cup semi-final since 1966.[55][56] Portugal lost the semi-final 1–0 against France,[57] and were then defeated 3–1 by the tournament hosts, Germany, in the third-place play-off match.[58]
2006–2014: Post-golden generation and mixed results
ForEuro 2008 Portugal finished second inqualification behind Poland,[59] 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.[60] After the tournament, Scolari left to take over atChelsea.[61] Afterwards,Carlos Queiroz was appointed as the head coach of the Portugal national team.[62][63][64][65]
Portugalcame second in the qualifying stages for the2010 FIFA World Cup under Queiroz, then beatBosnia and Herzegovina in aplay-off, thereby reaching every tournament in the decade.[66][67][68] 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.[69] Queiroz was later criticised for setting up his team in an overly cautious way.[70] After the World Cup, squad regularsSimão,Paulo Ferreira,Miguel andTiago all retired from international football.[71][72][73] 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.[74] In consequence, he received a further six-month suspension. Several media outbursts from Queiroz[75] against the heads of the Portuguese Football Federation followed, which partly prompted his dismissal. Paulo Bento was appointed as his replacement at head coach.[76]
Bento's team qualified for Euro 2012; they were drawn with Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands in a widely speculated "group of death".[77][78][79][80] They lost their first game 0–1 to Germany, then beat Denmark 3–2.[81][82] The final group stage match was against the Netherlands. AfterVan der Vaart had given the Dutch a 1–0 lead, Ronaldo netted twice to ensure a 2–1 victory.[83][84][85] 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.[86] The semi-final match was against Spain, who defeated Portugal 4–2 on penalties after a goalless draw.[87]
In2014 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 were drawn intoGroup G with the United States, Germany andGhana. Their first match against the Germans was their worst-ever defeat in a World Cup, a 4–0 loss.[88] They went on to draw 2–2 against the United States and won 2–1 against Ghana.[89][90] However, the team were eliminated due to inferior goal difference to the Americans.[91]
2016–present: Euro 2016 and first international glories
InUEFA Euro 2016 qualifying, Bento was dismissed following a defeat to Albania and was replaced byFernando Santos in September 2014.[92] After qualifying for the finals, Portugal finished third in Group F but advanced to the knockout stages as the third-best third place team following three straight draws. Portugal beat Croatia 1–0 after extra time in the round of 16[93] and then defeated Poland 5–3 on penalties to reach the semi-finals,[94] where they defeatedWales 2–0.[95] In thefinal against the hosts, France, Ronaldo went off injured. In extra time, substituteEder scored the winning goal for Portugal in the 109th minute with a strike from 25 yards pastHugo Lloris.[96][97]
At the2018 FIFA World Cup, Portugal opened their campaign with a 3–3 draw with Spain, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring ahat-trick.[102] After a 1–0 victory against Morocco,[103] Portugal drew 1–1 with Iran to progress to the knockout round as group runners-up.[104] Portugal were eliminated following a 2–1 defeat toUruguay in theround of 16.[105]
AtUEFA Euro 2020, Portugal were drawn into a group containingFrance,Germany andHungary which was widely speculated as being the "group of death".[citation needed] Portugal advanced to thenext round by defeating Hungary, drawing with France and losing to Germany. There, they facedBelgium but lost 1–0.
For the2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Portugal were required to qualify for the finals via theplay-offs after finishing second in their group.[108] Nevertheless, Portugal managed to beatTurkey[109] andNorth Macedonia to qualify for the final tournament.[110] At the 2022 World Cup, Portugal defeatedGhana 3–2 in their first group game[111] and then beat Uruguay 2–0.[112] to qualify for the knockout stages.[113] The Portuguese would demolishSwitzerland 6–1 in the next round, their highest tally in a World Cup knockout game since the1966 World Cup, withGonçalo Ramos scoring a hat-trick.[114][115] However, they were eliminated by tournament in the quarter-finals byMorocco, 1–0.[116] Following a disappointing World Cup campaign, Fernando Santos was dismissed on 15 December.[117] On 9 January 2023,Roberto Martinez was announced as the new head coach of Portugal.[118]
Portugal's traditionalhome kit is mainly red with a green trim, reflecting the colors of the nation'sflag. Over the years, the particular shade of red has alternated between a darkerburgundy and a lighterscarlet. 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 color, either with blue shorts, or red and green highlights. In recent times, all-black has been utilised, as has a turquoise-teal color, the latter of which was prominently featured during the title winningEuro 2016 campaign.
INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury. FIT Player withdrew from the squad due to fitness concerns. PRE Preliminary squad. RET Player retired from international football. OTH Player withdrew from the squad due to other reasons. SUS Serving Suspension
