Portugal national football team

The Portuguese national football team has never won any major competition at senior level, but Portugal usually play very attractive football and can produce some great performances, playing head-to-head with the world's best national sides. They reached their first major final at {{Ec2|2004}}, losing to Greece.

Related Topics:
Portugal - Football - Greece

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Portugal's best performance yet was in the {{Wc|1966}}, in their very first World Cup appearance, when they reached the semifinals and lost only to eventual world champions England. Led by their legendary player Eusébio, they put up amazing performances, knocking out previous World Cup champions Brazil and fighting back from a 3-0 result in the quarterfinals against North Korea, winning by 5-3. Portugal eventually finished in third place and Eusébio was considered the best player of the tournament.

Related Topics:
England - Eusébio - Brazil - North Korea

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The next two times Portugal qualified for the World Cup saw results that to Portugal's supporters were appalling. In 1986 Portugal arrived in Mexico as semi-finalists of {{Ec|84}}, but a player uprising in Saltillo (later named Saltillo Affair) against poor conditions, followed by harsh punishment against key players involved in the uprising, undermined player confidence. Although they did beat group favourites England in the first game, they lost the remaining games to Poland and Morocco (which turned to be Morocco's first win ever in the World Cup).

Related Topics:
1986 - Mexico - Saltillo - Saltillo Affair - England - Poland - Morocco

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Months before the start of the {{Wc|2002}}, Portugal lost in the Estádio do Bessa against Finland 1-4. This proved to be a preview of things to come, when Portugal (for some the dark horse in the competition) failed miserably to get through the group stage, after losing to the United States in the opening match 3-2, beating Poland 4-0 but losing 1-0 against South Korea, in a game where João Vieira Pinto punched referee Angel Sanchez after being sent off early in the game. Weeks later, it was revealed that before the final match the players argued with federation representatives about prizes. Before the competition, midfielder Daniel Kenedy was removed from the squad after failing to pass a doping test and replaced with Hugo Viana, who did not play in the competition. This decision, along with leaving qualifying phase goalkeeper Ricardo Pereira on the bench in favour of Vítor Baía, led to much questioning about then-coach António Oliveira's choices.

Related Topics:
Estádio do Bessa - Finland - Dark horse - United States - South Korea - João Vieira Pinto - Sent off - Daniel Kenedy - Hugo Viana - Ricardo Pereira - Vítor Baía - António Oliveira

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Few national teams have had to live up to greater expectations than the Portugal team from roughly 1994 to 2004. The Portugal under-20 national team won two successive FIFA World Youth Championships in 1989 and 1991 with a virtual galaxy of stars, among them midfielders Luís Figo and Rui Costa and forward João Vieira Pinto; these stars were dubbed the golden generation. However, they were never able to transfer their success at youth level to ultimate victory at senior level. The remaining members of the "golden generation", along with other players that appeared at the highest level after the 2002 World Cup (such as Maniche, the brazilian-born Deco, Ricardo Carvalho, Miguel and Paulo Ferreira) and younger talent such as Cristiano Ronaldo, finally led Portugal to its first-ever senior-level final at {{Ec2|2004}}. Portugal lost 1-0 to Greece in the final. Their only win in any international competition at senior level remains the 1995 SkyDome Cup in Canada.

Related Topics:
1994 - 2004 - FIFA World Youth Championship - 1989 - 1991 - Luís Figo - Rui Costa - João Vieira Pinto - Maniche - Deco - Ricardo Carvalho - Miguel - Paulo Ferreira - Cristiano Ronaldo - Greece - 1995 - SkyDome Cup - Canada

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The team has proven itself equally capable of mediocre performances against inferior teams. On October 9, 2004, Portugal suffered a humiliating 2-2 draw against Liechtenstein in a {{Wc|2006}} qualifier. The Liechtenstein team, playing at home, had never earned a point in its previous 20 World Cup qualifiers, and Portugal blew a 2-0 halftime lead. The Portuguese media savaged the team after the draw; one Lisbon paper called the team "Europe's Laughingstock." The team took out its frustrations four days later with a 7-1 demolition of Russia, the largest defeat ever for the Russian side since the demise of the Soviet Union.

Related Topics:
October 9 - 2004 - Liechtenstein - Lisbon - Russia - Soviet Union

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On October 8, 2005, Portugal secured its place in the {{Wc|2006}} with a closer-than-expected 2-1 home win in Aveiro against the same Liechtenstein team. This time, Portugal fell behind 1-0 at halftime, but came back to avoid an even greater embarrassment.

Related Topics:
October 8 - 2005 - Aveiro

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