Portugal with talent to burn as they chase the big prize

NOV 24: Portugal have quality in every department and players who know what it means to win trophies on the international stage, namely UEFA EURO 2016 and the 2019 UEFA Nations League. It is for those reasons that they are capable of taking on and beating any side.

Their confidence has just taken a dent, however, with Spain’s narrow 1-0 win at the end of the Nations League group phase reviving memories of painful slip-ups in the past. The setback even had some fans questioning the place of the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo.

Portugal needed just a point from that match, played in Braga, to reach the semi-finals. With 87 minutes gone and the game still goalless, they looked on course to achieve it, only for Alvaro Morata to pop up with a late winner for the visitors. The denouement was reminiscent of the 2-1 home loss to Serbia in November 2021, on the final matchday of the qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, a defeat that forced the Portuguese to negotiate the play-offs.

The trip to Qatar will provide the team with a chance to make peace with the fans. Joining Ronaldo on the plane will be a compelling mix of players covering several generations. Now into their 30s, Joao Moutinho and Danilo are both in the old guard, while Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Joao Cancelo are all 28, Ruben Dias is still only 25, and Joao Felix and Vitinha are three years younger. A long world-finals campaign would provide the perfect send-off for the veterans and also act as a springboard for the players who will take over from them and lead Portugal into the future.

Fernando Santos' approach and tactics

“The best is yet to come and it’ll come this year,” said a confident Fernando Santos, looking ahead to Portugal’s bid for glory in Qatar. The 67-year-old coach has good reason to be optimistic. Not only can he still count on the services of the greatest player the country has ever produced, but he also has a seemingly limitless supply of gifted new faces at his disposal.

It is thanks to that conveyor belt of talent that the man they call The Engineer has been able to revamp the side that won UEFA EURO 2016 and bring in youngsters of the calibre of Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa, AC Milan forward Rafael Leao – both of whom are 23 – and Paris Saint-Germain left-back Nuno Mendes, who is three years their junior.

Appointed to the post in the second half of 2014, Santos finds himself in an unusual situation. Despite having led Portugal to the most successful era in their history, he does not have the complete backing of the fans. A sizeable section find his style to be too pragmatic and conservative and accuse of him of failing to make the most of all the options at his disposal.

Key player: Cristiano Ronaldo

A Portugal player for 19 years now, Cristiano Ronaldo shows no signs of wanting to retire from international football. At a recent Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) event, the five-times FIFA Player of the Year announced his intention to continue playing for his country until EURO 2024.

A leading figure in Portugal’s recent triumphs and one of the greatest finishers the world has ever seen, Ronaldo recently became the highest all-time goalscorer in international football, with 117 goals in 191 appearances.

The 37-year-old ace has contributed more than just goals and silverware over the years. He is regarded by many as the reason why Portugal finally overcame their supposed inferiority complex, which had long prevented the national team from performing against the game’s traditional powerhouses and had held them back at yet moments.

About to appear at his fifth World Cup, Ronaldo has scored in all four of the editions he has graced to date (Germany 2006, South Africa 2010, Brazil 2014 and Russia 2018), without getting his hands on the Trophy.

To do that, he will have to overcome the recent criticism levelled at him, which has been vocally expressed at home, a turn of events to which he is not accustomed. The No7 has failed to score on eight of his last nine outings for Portugal and is having to contend with a lack of regular football at Manchester United. That said, he continues to strike fear in the hearts of opposing defences. Santos himself has said that Ronaldo is irreplaceable. The player is sure to form part of the 4-3-3 that the coach will deploy in an effort to fulfil his promise and improve on Portugal’s showing at Russia 2018, when they fell to Uruguay in the last 16.

One to watch: Ruben Dias

Nowhere has Portugal’s need for renewal after 2016 been greater than in defence. With Pepe, Jose Fonte and Bruno Alves all approaching their 40s, the rearguard was in need of some fresh blood and found it in the shape of Ruben Dias.

The centre-half was only 21 when he made his international debut in 2018. A Benfica player at the time, he did enough to convince Santos to name him in the squad for the World Cup that year and has never looked back. No longer a novice in the dressing room, Dias will be one of Portugal’s leading men in Qatar, and not without good reason. When Manchester City signed him as a replacement for retired Belgian centre-half Vincent Kompany in 2020, the young Portuguese went on to win the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year award in his maiden Premier League season.

His presence alongside Pepe in the heart of defence is a reassuring one for Portugal, thanks both to his tackling and the ease with which he distributes the ball.

Portugal's World Cup history

Portugal’s best ever performance at the World Cup came at England 1966, when a Eusebio-inspired team placed third. The country’s next appearance did not come until Mexico 1986, which was followed by another lengthy absence, until Korea/Japan 2002. The Portuguese have been tournament ever-presents since then and reached the semi-finals for a second time at Germany 2006.