Portugal’s men’s national football team, also known as A Selecao, are one of the most respected national sides in the game. They were crowned European champions in 2016.

Portugal were also crowned UEFA Nations League champions in 2019, and are famous for iconic players across generations, including Eusebio, Luis Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Portugal's national team is governed by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) and their home stadium is the Estadio Nacional, which has a capacity of 37,593 and is also the current home ground of Portuguese club Belenenses.

Former Belgium manager Roberto Martinez succeeded Fernando Santos as head coach, who left the role after eight years in charge at the end of 2022 World Cup.

 

The national team's beginnings

Portugal played their first international match in 1921 and they contested friendlies for much of their early existence, before taking part in their first major international tournament - the 1928 Olympics.

Portugal were not invited to the first FIFA World Cup in 1930 due to the early format of the tournament, and thereafter failed in multiple qualification attempts before the Second World War halted World Cups for 12 years. In 1950, they were invited to replace Spain, who had withdrawn from participating in the tournament, but declined the invitation.

The 1950s saw continuing failed attempts for Portugal to qualify for the World Cup as major international soccereluded the Selecao. A comprehensive 9-1 defeat to Austria ended their qualification for the 1954 World Cup, while they could not finish top of their qualifying group in 1958 - but better times were soon around the corner.

Reaching a major tournament in the 1960s

In the 1960s, Portuguese soccer scaled unprecedented heights. At the 1960 European Championship, they went all the way to the quarter-finals before eventually being eliminated by Yugoslavia, thus failing to qualify for what was then a four-team knockout finals tournament.

Portugal finished behind England in their 1962 World Cup qualification group and therefore missed out on the finals and were eliminated in a qualifying play-off for the 1964 European Championships by Bulgaria.

However, they fared much better in the 1966 World Cup after taking the final step to qualify for the tournament for the first time, inspired by Mozambique-born superstar Eusebio.

He was the top scorer at the tournament with nine goals as Portugal beat Hungary, Bulgaria and Brazil in the group stages before eliminating North Korea in the quarter-finals. Portugal lost 2-1 to hosts England in the semi-finals, but beat the Soviet Union 2-1 in the third-place play-off. This remains their best outcome at a World Cup to date.

The tough times soon returned, though, and the Selecao would fail to qualify for another major tournament until the 1984 European Championships.

 

Portugal in the 1980s

Despite missing out on qualification for the 1982 FIFA World Cup, Portugal enjoyed some success in the 1980s. They qualified for their first European Championships in 1984, coming through a qualifying group containing heavy tournament favourites, the Soviet Union. Portugal would go on to upset the odds to beat the Soviets 1-0 in their group, before getting through to the knockout stages at the main tournament.

France were the Selecao's opponents in the semi-finals of the tournament and a dramatic match ensued. Portugal equalised late on inside 90 minutes to take the tie to extra time, before taking the lead in the first half of the additional half-hour. However, France struck twice in quick succession before the final whistle to take a 3-2 win on the day and progress to the final.

Portugal beat West Germany on their own turf to qualify for the 1986 World Cup and then beat England at the tournament itself, but defeats to Poland and Morocco saw them eliminated at the group stages.

Portugal did not appear at another major tournament until Euro 1996, by which time they were ushering in a new golden generation of players.

 

Portugal's golden period

Portugal won the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 1989 and 1991 and that generation went on to kickstart a golden era for the senior squad.

At UEFA Euro 1996, Portugal finished first in their group, but lost to the Czech Republic in the quarter-finals.

Despite failing to qualify for the 1998 World Cup, Portugal enjoyed an impressive run of form at UEFA Euro 2000.

They beat England, Romania and Germany to top Group A and then Turkey in the quarter-finals. However, a penalty against Abel Xavier for handball in extra time, converted by Zinedine Zidane, saw France beat Portugal in the semi-finals.

The 2002 World Cup saw Portugal eliminated in the group stage and manager Antonio Oliveira fired.

Shortly before Euro 2004, Portugal hired one of their most successful managers ever, Luiz Felipe Scolari, who had won the 2002 World Cup with Brazil.

On home soil at the European Championships, Portugal lost the first game 2-1 to Greece. They subsequently recovered, beating Russia 2-0 and Spain 1-0. They beat England on penalties after a 2-2 draw in the quarter-finals and went on to defeat the Netherlands 2-1 in the semi-finals.

Unfortunately for Portugal, they were stunned once again by heavy underdogs Greece in the final, losing 1-0.

Portugal enjoyed another impressive run at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. They topped Group D after beating Angola, Iran and Mexico, beating the Netherlands 1-0 in the round of 16 in a match which infamously saw 16 yellow cards and four red cards.

In the quarter-finals, Portugal beat England on penalties following a 0-0 draw. This was another hot-tempered affair marked by Cristiano Ronaldo winking after Wayne Rooney was sent off - a gesture perceived by some as disrespectful to his then-Manchester United team-mate. Ronaldo and Rooney continued to enjoy a productive relationship at club level afterwards.

Portugal lost 1-0 to France in the semi-finals and went down 3-1 to hosts Germany in the third-place play-off.

Portugal took a strong side to UEFA Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, but there was a distraction hanging over the camp as Scolari would be off to Chelsea following the completion of the tournament.

Portugal beat Turkey and the Czech Republic in their first two group games, but subsequently lost to Switzerland and had to face Germany in the quarter-finals, losing 3-2.

Carlos Queiroz led Portugal into the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Once again, Portugal lost their first knockout match, losing 1-0 to Spain in the last 16. After the tournament, Simao, Paulo Ferreira, Miguel and Tiago all retired from international soccer.

Euro 2012 saw more disappointment at the hands of Spain, as Portugal were eliminated by the eventual winners in a penalty shootout in the semi-finals under the management of Paulo Bento.

Portugal were thrashed 4-0 by Germany in their first game of the 2014 World Cup. They were unable to recover sufficiently in their next two fixtures, drawing 2-2 with the USA and winning 2-1 against Ghana, crashing out in the group stages.

 

Portugal and the 2016 European Championships

Former Porto, Sporting CP and Benfica boss Fernando Santos replaced Bento as manager in September 2014.

Santos led Portugal to Euro 2016 in France and, while expectations for the side were high, few would envisage what would happen to the Selecao during the tournament.

After three disappointing draws in the group stages, Portugal only managed to scrape through to the knockout stages by virtue of being one of the best third-placed teams. From then on, the team would maintain their habit of drawing in 90 minutes.

Their round-of-16 tie against Croatia went the distance, but Portugal spared themselves the lottery of penalties with a 117th-minute winner from the experienced Ricardo Quaresma.

Santos and his side went to extra time again in the last eight, but this time overcame a dogged Poland side 5-3 on penalties to set up a tie with surprise semi-finalists, Wales.

Remarkably, Portugal's 2-0 win against Wales in the semis, courtesy of two goals in four minutes from Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani respectively, was the first game they had won inside 90 minutes at the entire tournament.

Waiting for them in the showpiece match were tournament hosts and future World Cup winners France. Disaster struck midway through the first half when talisman Ronaldo was forced off through injury 25 minutes in.

However, the Selecao managed to, surprise surprise, take the final to extra time.

The biggest moment in Portugal's soccer history would follow in the 109th minute when substitute striker Eder fired past Hugo Lloris to cue pandemonium in Portugal and the country's first major international tournament.

 

More silverware in Nations League

Portugal couldn't follow the 2016 victory with more silverware at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in the opening game against Spain, and another in the 1-0 win over Morocco, But after qualifying second in the group they were knocked out by Uruguay 2-1 in the round of 16.

Ronaldo starred in the inaugural UEFA Nations League finals, where Portugal defeated the Netherlands 1-0 to claim the crown in 2019.

Ronaldo was the top scorer in this tournament and became the second male player after Ali Daei of Iran to reach 100 international goals.

 

The end of the Santos era

The presence of an ageing Ronaldo was starting to loom large over the Portugal squad in the 2020s. But he continued to be a key figure on the pitch.

He came into Euro 2020 with the chance to break more records. In his first game of the tournament, he scored twice in Portugal's 3-0 win over Hungary.

This took him to a total of 11 European Championship goals, two clear of Michel Platini as the all-time top goalscorer in the competition's history.

The goals also made him the first player to score at five European Championships and in 11 straight tournaments. The brace also made him the oldest player to score for Portugal at a major tournament.

In the final group stage match, Ronaldo scored two penalties, equalling Ali Daei's record of 109 international goals. He also overtook Miroslav Klose as the top goalscorer at both the World Cup and European Championships with 21 goals.

However, it was a poor tournament overall for Portugal, after qualifying from the group stage they lost 1-0 to Belgium in the round of 16.

Ronaldo finished the tournament with five goals (tied with Patrik Schick of the Czech Republic) and one assist, earning him the Golden Boot.

In Portugal's first group game at the 2022 World Cup, Ronaldo became the first man to score in five World Cups after netting a penalty against Ghana.

It was his eighth goal of the finals moving him level with Diego Maradona, Rivaldo and Rudi Voller on the all-time World Cup scorers list, but way behind Germany's Miroslav Klose at the top of the tree on 16.

It was his 118th goal for his country.

However, Ronaldo's performances at the 2022 World Cup were generally underwhelming and the subject of criticism in Portugal, not helped by the striker seemingly claiming a goal that he did not get a touch on in the 2-0 group win over Uruguay.

He was dropped to the bench for Portugal's World Cup last-16 clash with Switzerland. Santos was unhappy with the veteran's reaction to being substituted towards the end of the group stage 2-1 loss to South Korea.

But Ronaldo's dream of lifting a World Cup ended at the quarter-final stage as Morocco became the first African team to reach the semi-finals of the tournament as Youssef En-Nesyri's header three minutes before half-time was the only goal of a 1-0 victory.

Portugal parted company with Santos after the tournament. He had been in charge for eight years and brought the country its most success.

Former Belgium boss Roberto Martinez replaced Santos in January 2023.

 

The Martinez era

Under Martinez Portugal cruised through qualification for the 2024 European Championships in Germany, with ten wins from ten matches.

At the tournament Portugal won their group after beating Czechia and Turkey, but lost to Georgia.

They faced Slovenia in the Round of 16 where an emotional Ronaldo was cast in the role of villain after missing a series of chances and having his extra-time penalty saved by Slovenia goalkeeper Jan Oblak in the scoreless encounter.

The 39-year-old was in tears during the extra-time break and consoled by team-mates, but he converted a spot-kick in the ensuing shoot-out as Diogo Costa saved all three Slovenia penalties and Portugal won 3-0.

However, Portugal fell at the quarter-final hurdle as France set up a semi-final with Spain after winning a penalty shootout 5-3.

After it ended 0-0 after 120 turgid minutes, the tie had to be decided from the spot – Portugal’s second successive shootout of the tournament.

France led 3-2 when Joao Felix stepped up to the spot and smashed his penalty into the post.

 

Legends of the Selecao

Eusebio was a crucial player not only because of his incredible achievements on the field of play, but because he paved the way for his fellow African players to star in Europe. He passed away in January 2014 and was mourned across the world.

Midfielder Luis Figo was one of the most talked-about players of his generation, particularly when he infamously transferred from Barcelona to rivals Real Madrid.

Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably the most iconic Portuguese footballer ever and the Euro 2016 triumph was notable partially because he was able to get his hands on a major international prize before Argentina's Lionel Messi, his main rival for accolades in his generation.

Ronaldo is Portugal's most capped player and has made the most appearances at World Cup and European Championships.

He is also the country's all-time top scorer and has scored the most hat-tricks. However, Eusebio has still scored the most goals for Portugal at World Cups.

Portugal's biggest rivals

Portugal have a longstanding rivalry with Spain, dating back as far as Portugal's very early matches in 1921. It is known as 'The Iberian War' or 'The Iberian Derby'. Spain have generally had the better of this fixture, even in recent times.

 

Portugal's fanbase

Portugal's national team is followed across the world, partially because of the many players with roots in other countries (for example, Eusebio is widely considered to be an African player as well as Portuguese due to having been born in Mozambique).