The Portugal national football team is the representative football team of Portugal in international competitions, affiliated with the Portuguese Football Federation, with Roberto Martínez serving as its current head coach.

Team History

In 1914, the Portuguese Football Federation was founded. In 1921, Portugal made its international debut, losing to Spain in a friendly match. From the 1930s to the 1950s, the Portugal national team participated in multiple FIFA World Cup European qualifiers but never managed to reach the finals. In the 1966 World Cup qualifiers, Portugal topped their group and qualified for the World Cup finals for the first time. At the 1966 World Cup, Portugal finished third, with striker Eusébio claiming the tournament’s top scorer award with 9 goals.

Subsequently, Portugal failed to qualify for the finals in the 1970 World Cup qualifiers, 1972 European Championship qualifiers, 1978 Argentina World Cup qualifiers, and 1982 Spain World Cup qualifiers. In 1984, Portugal qualified for the European Championship finals for the first time but was eliminated in the semi-finals. At the 1986 Mexico World Cup, Portugal finished 4th in their group and missed the knockout stage. They also failed to qualify for the 1990 World Cup, 1992 European Championship, and 1994 World Cup finals. At the 1996 European Championship, Portugal was eliminated in the quarter-finals.

Nowadays

At the 2006 Germany World Cup, Portugal finished 4th. At the 2010 South Africa World Cup, they were eliminated in the round of 16. In the final of the 2016 France European Championship, Portugal defeated host nation France with a goal from Éder, securing the first major tournament title in the team’s history. On June 9, 2019, in the final of the inaugural UEFA Nations League, Portugal narrowly beat the Netherlands to win the first UEFA Nations League title.

On June 9, 2025, in the UEFA Nations League final, Portugal defeated Spain on penalties to claim the Nations League title for the second time.