The Portuguese enter Qatar with an extremely talented team, but most will label this as Cristiano Ronaldo’s last run at the World Cup trophy. The 37-year-old has won everything there is to win in the sport except this competition, and the team has surrounded him with arguably its most talented group since its fourth-place finish at the 2006 World Cup. But since then, Portugal has mostly underachieved at the World Cup as it has failed to make it past the round of 16.
Portugal almost missed out on the trip to Qatar after losing to Serbia in the final group qualifying match in the 90th minute, which saw it finish second and drop into a nervy playoff. But Portugal withstood the pressure with wins over Turkey and North Macedonia to qualify for its eighth World Cup. It also underperformed at Euro 2020, where it managed one win against Hungary in the group of death and was bounced from the tournament by Belgium in the round of 16 after winning it all in 2016.
Even with Diogo Jota ruled out of the World Cup due to injury, Portugal’s attack is loaded with options that include Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, João Félix and Bernardo Silva. Meanwhile, its defense is filled with Manchester City and PSG stars like Rúben Dias, Nuno Mendes and João Cancelo. But the Portuguese stars still need to show that they can put it all together for the national team. They come into Qatar having won only one of their last five games against World Cup-bound opponents..
