Synopsis
The Portugal National Football Team, Portuguesa de Futebol has been representing Portugal since 1921. The team is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation. FIFA has ranked the country in 3rd position, as of November 2017.
Portugal has recently won the 2016 UEFA European Championship. The team made a 1-0 victory over France in the final played at the Stade de France. They have made many other UEFA appearances in the past.
Here's a short video of the team celebrating their victory, Euro 2016.
Fernando Santos, The Coach
The team is currently managed by the coach, Fernando Santos. Appointed on September 23, 2014, Santos made the history leading the team to the successful win at the Euro 2016.
The Lisbon born coach, and a retired Portuguese footballer, Santos has coached many other teams like C.F. Estrela da Amadora, FC Porto, AEK Athens F.C., Benfica, PAOK, and Greece national team in the past.
Santos is currently coaching the Portugal national team, leading the team towards the success. Following the successful victory in the Euro 2016, he will show up his best in the 2018 World Cup as well.
André Silva
Portuguese professional footballer, André Silva currently plays as a striker for Italian Club A.C. Milan and the Portugal national team. He has represented Portugal at the 2014 European U-19 Championship.
Silva made his senior international debut at the 2017 Confederations Cup finishing third with his team. He made his appearances in Taça de Portugal, Taça da Liga, Coppa Italia, and UEFA Europa League.
Silva scored his first goal with the main squad on 7 October 2016, featuring the entire 6–0 defeat of Andorra for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Cristiano Ronaldo, The Star
Cristiano Ronaldo, the captain of the team, is one of the greatest footballers in history. He is the all-time leading scorer for both Portugal and Real Madrid. He has been honored as The Best FIFA Men’s Player for the last two years.
Ronaldo was named the best Portuguese player of all time by the Portuguese Football Federation in 2015. Made his senior international debut at the age of 18, he is Portugal’s most capped player and top goal scorer of all time.
Ronaldo has received the Silver Boot as the second—highest goal-scorer of the tournament, Euro 2016. He ranked the world’s highest paid athlete by Forbes in 2016 and 2017. Also, he was named as the world’s famous athlete by ESPN in 2016 and 2017.
Records
Portugal has made several records in the history of football. Here the list of the records made by the country:
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Most goals scored in one World Cup
9 – Eusébio (1966)
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Most goals scored in World Cup finals
9 – Eusébio (1966)
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Most matches played in World Cup
13 – Cristiano Ronaldo (2006, 2010 & 2014)
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Most goals scored in one European Championship
4 – Nuno Gomes (2000)
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Most goals scored in European Championship finals
9 – Cristiano Ronaldo (2004, 2008, 2012 & 2016)
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Most matches played in European Championship finals
21 – Cristiano Ronaldo (2004, 2008, 2012 & 2016)
-
Oldest player
38 years, 8 months and 3 days – Vítor Damas (1–3 against Morocco on 11 June 1986)
-
Oldest outfield player
38 years, 1 month and 4 days – Ricardo Carvalho (3–3 against Hungary on 22 June 2016)
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Oldest goalscorer
36 years, 10 months and 11 days – Ricardo Carvalho (2–1 against Serbia on 29 March 2015)
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Youngest debutant
17 years, 6 months and 24 days – Paulo Futre (5–0 against Finland on 21 September 1983)
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Youngest goalscorer
17 years, 9 months and 25 days – Fernando Chalana (2–1 against Cyprus on 5 December 1976)
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Longest national career
17 years, 3 months and 5 days – Vítor Damas (From 6 April 1969 to 11 July 1986)
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Longest national career for an outfield player
15 years, 9 months and 18 days – Nuno Gomes (From 24 January 1996 to 11 October 2011)
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Youngest player to reach 100 caps
27 years, 8 months and 11 days – Cristiano Ronaldo (1–1 against Northern Ireland on 16 October 2012)
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Most hat-tricks
5 – Cristiano Ronaldo (includes four goals against Andorra on 7 October 2016)
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Youngest player to score a hat-trick
20 years, 11 months and 4 days – André Silva (6–0 against the Faroe Islands on 10 October 2016)
List of Most capped players
# |
Name |
Caps |
Goals |
First cap |
Latest cap |
1 |
Cristiano Ronaldo |
152 |
85 |
20 August 2003 |
20 June 2018 |
2 |
Luís Figo |
127 |
32 |
12 October 1991 |
8 July 2006 |
3 |
112 |
24 |
1 September 2006 |
2 July 2017 |
|
4 |
João Moutinho |
112 |
7 |
17 August 2005 |
20 June 2018 |
5 |
Fernando Couto |
110 |
8 |
19 December 1990 |
30 June 2004 |
6
7 |
97 |
5 |
21 November 2007 |
20 June 2018 |
|
Rui Costa |
94 |
26 |
31 March 1993 |
4 July 2004 |
|
7 | Bruno Alves |
94 |
11 |
5 June 2007 |
3 September 2017 |
9 |
Ricardo Carvalho |
89 |
5 |
11 October 2003 |
22 June 2016 |
10 |
Pauleta |
88 |
47 |
20 August 1997 |
8 July 2006 |
List of Top goalscorers
# |
Name |
Goals |
Caps |
Average |
First cap |
Latest cap |
1 |
Cristiano Ronaldo |
79 |
147 |
0.53 |
20 August 2003 |
10 October 2017 |
2 |
Pauleta |
47 |
88 |
0.53 |
20 August 1997 |
8 July 2006 |
3 |
Eusébio |
41 |
64 |
0.64 |
8 October 1961 |
13 October 1973 |
4 |
Luís Figo |
32 |
127 |
0.25 |
12 October 1991 |
8 July 2006 |
5 |
Nuno Gomes |
29 |
79 |
0.37 |
24 January 1996 |
11 October 2011 |
6 |
Hélder Postiga |
27 |
71 |
0.38 |
13 June 2003 |
14 November 2014 |
7 |
Rui Costa |
26 |
94 |
0.28 |
31 March 1993 |
4 July 2004 |
8 |
24 |
112 |
0.21 |
1 September 2006 |
2 July 2017 |
|
9 |
João Pinto |
23 |
81 |
0.30 |
12 October 1991 |
14 June 2002 |
10 |
Nené |
22 |
66 |
0.33 |
21 April 1971 |
23 June 1984 |
Simão |
22 |
85 |
0.26 |
18 October 1998 |
29 June 2010 |
Here's the list of Portugal's 23-man squad heading to Russia.
Goalkeepers | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
Anthony Lopes (Lyon), Beto (Goztepe), Rui Patricio (Sporting Lisbon) | Bruno Alves (Rangers), Cedric Soares (Southampton), Jose Fonte (Dalian Yifang), Mario Rui (Napoli), Pepe (Besiktas), Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund), Ricardo Pereira (Porto), Ruben Dias (Benfica) | Adrien Silva (Leicester), Bruno Fernandes (Sporting Lisbon), Joao Mario (West Ham), Joao Moutinho (AS Monaco), Manuel Fernandes (Lokomotiv Moscow), William Carvalho (Sporting) | Andre Silva (AC Milan), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Gelson Martins (Sporting Lisbon), Goncalo Guedes (Valencia), Ricardo Quaresma (Besiktas) |
FIFA World Cup 2018
European champions Portugal booked their place in the World Cup 2018 after narrowly topping Europe's Group B on goal difference, edging out Switzerland on the final day to avoid the playoffs.
Portugal has made six World Cup appearances to date. Portugal will be playing against Spain, Morocco, and IR Iran in the second edition of the tournament, World Cup 2018.
Portugal made their World Cup debut in 1966, finishing third in the finals. They stood the fourth place in the 2006 FIFA World Cup.