The history of the Portugal national football team dates back to its first match on 18 December 1921. The national team, also referred to as Seleção das Quinas (Team of the Quincunxes), represents the nation of Portugal in international football. It is fielded by the Portuguese Football Federation and competes as one of the founding members of UEFA.
The Portugal national football team played its first international match in 1921 and has taken part in the FIFA World Cup, where their best finish was third in 1966. After reaching the final of the UEFA Euro 2004 on home soil with their golden generation, and reaching the semi-finals of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Portugal's first major trophy came in 2016 with that year's European Championship. Over the following years, Portugal won the UEFA Nations League on two occasions, in 2019, making it the second major tournament earned by the Portuguese in three finals and a recording second time in 2025.
Early years The Portuguese Football Federation was formed in 1914 under the Portuguese Football Union name (by 1926, it changed to its current name) and the aim of creating national tournaments (since it only existed regional championships) and promoting matches in which a Portuguese representative team would play against other teams from various parts of the world. However, due to the outbreak of World War I, that objective was not feasible for the next seven years.
Portugal played its first match on 18 December 1921, a 3–1 defeat. The following year, the inaugural edition of the Campeonato de Portugal (a knock-out tournament and precursor to the Taça de Portugal) was contested with the winner named "Portuguese Champion".
1928 Olympics After years of playing friendly matches, Portugal was invited to enter the 1928 Summer Olympics Football Tournament, which was, at that time, contested by the best national "A" teams in the world and, therefore, considered to be the best international footballing tournament until the FIFA World Cup started two years later in 1930.
The Portuguese team was drawn in the preliminary round against Chile for a place in the first round. After falling 2–0 behind, Portugal scored four goals to win the match 4–2. After their win against Chile, they faced off Yugoslavia and won 2–1 due to a late goal in the 90th minute. Portugal was then eliminated in the quarter-finals against Egypt after losing 2–1. Egypt would go on to lose against Argentina 6–0 in the semi-final and Italy 11–3 for the bronze medal match, which embittered the players. Nevertheless, it was a bright start in international tournaments for the team.
Early World Cup attempts Portugal was not invited to the 1930 World Cup, which only featured a final stage and no qualification round. The team took part in the 1934 World Cup qualification process, but failed to eliminate Spain, aggregating two defeats in the two-legged round, with a 9–0 loss in Madrid and 2–1 loss in Lisbon for an aggregate score of 11–1.
In qualification for the 1938 World Cup, the Seleção played one match against Switzerland at a neutral ground, in Milan, losing 2–1 to end their qualification prospects. Due to the outbreak of World War II, there was no World Cup held until the 1950 competition. Subsequently, the national team played very few matches against other nations. A 10–0 away friendly defeat against England played two years after the war evidenced how the irregularity of matches played had taken its effects on the squad.
1950s and early 1960s Upon the restart of international play, Portugal was to play a two-legged round against Spain, just like in the 1934 qualification. After a 5–1 defeat in Madrid, they managed to draw in the second match 2–2 (7–3 on aggregate).
For the qualification of the 1954 World Cup, the team played Austria. The Austrians won the first match with a humiliating 9–1 result. The best the national team could do was hold the team to a goalless draw in Lisbon, and the round ended with a 9–1 defeat.
In the 1958 qualification, Portugal finished last in the group stage that also featured Northern Ireland and Italy; only the first-placed team would qualify. They started with a 1–1 draw against the Irish team, but lost in Belfast by a score of 3–0. After that, they won 3–0 against Italy and lost 3–0 in Milan. Finishing with three points, they were two points behind group winners Northern Ireland.
The year 1960 was the year that UEFA created the European Football Championship, a football tournament similar to the FIFA World Cup, but for European nations. The first edition was a knock-out tournament, the last four teams participating in final stage that only featured one leg while the older stages had two legs. For the first round, the Seleção das Quinas won 2–0 against East Germany and 3–2 in Porto for the second leg, finishing with a 5–2 two-legged win. The quarter-final opponent was Yugoslavia. Despite winning the first game 2–1, they lost the second leg 5–1 in Belgrade, and lost 6–3 on aggregate.
England and Luxembourg were the 1962 FIFA World Cup qualification adversaries of the national team. Portugal ended second in the group with three points, behind England (with seven points). They started well with a home win (6–0) against Luxembourg and a home draw (1–1) against the English, but lost the following games, first 4–2 against Luxembourg, then 2–0 against England. Like in the previous World Cup qualification, only the first in the group would qualify.
The 1964 European Championship shared the same format as the 1960 edition. Portugal played against Bulgaria in the first round. The Portuguese lost 3–1 in Sofia and won 3–1 in Lisbon. With the round tied 4–4, a replay was needed in a neutral ground. In Rome, Portugal lost 1–0 with a late goal from the Bulgarians.
In 1964, the Nations' Cup was held in Brazil. The event celebrated the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Brazilian Football Confederation. Three international teams were invited – Argentina, Portugal, and England – for the competition, which was played in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo in late May and early June, with an all round-robin format. Portugal ended with one point (five behind winners Argentina) and joint third place with England after two defeats (4–1 with Brazil and 2–0 with Argentina) and a 1–1 tie against England
1966 World Cup and 1970s
In the 1966 World Cup qualification, Portugal was drawn into the same group as Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Turkey. They topped the group with only one draw and one defeat in all six games and finally qualified for a FIFA World Cup; that year the final stage would be held in England. Notable results were 1–0 away wins against Czechoslovakia and Turkey and a 5–1 home win against the Turks.
The team started out with three wins in the group stage, where they were in Group C, against Hungary 3–1, Bulgaria 3–0, and two-time defending champions Brazil 3–1. In the quarter-finals, Portugal played against North Korea. Portugal won the game with four goals from Eusébio overturning a deficit of 3–0. Later, they reached the semi-finals but were defeated by hosts and eventual champions England 2–1; in this game, Portugal would have played in Liverpool, but as England were the hosts, FIFA decided that the game should be in London, which led the Portuguese team to travel unexpectedly from Liverpool to London. Portugal then defeated the Soviet Union 2–1 in the third place match for their best World Cup finish to date. Eusébio was the top scorer of the World Cup, with nine goals.
For the Euro 1968 qualifying, the Seleção played against Bulgaria, Norway, and Sweden. They finished second to Bulgaria, with six points, four behind the Bulgarians. Portugal only managed two wins and two draws; both wins came from 2–1 results against Norway.
After their tremendous success in the 1966 World Cup, Portugal tried to qualify for the 1970 World Cup, which was to be held in Mexico. They finished fourth and last in their group, behind Greece, Romania, and Switzerland. With only four points (from one win and two ties), Portugal were four points behind group winners Romania.
To be able to participate in Euro 1972, Portugal had to win its group that comprised the teams of Belgium, Denmark, and Scotland. Portugal finished second to Belgium with seven points (two less than the Belgians). The three wins the Portuguese had were against Denmark (1–0 away, 5–0 home) and Scotland in a 2–0 home win.
Also in 1972, Portugal participated in the Brazilian Independence Cup, a tournament that marked the 150th birthday since Brazil received its independence from Portugal. Winning both group stages (in the first stage, with wins against Ecuador (3–0), Iran (3–0), Chile (4–1) and the Republic of Ireland (2–1) and in the second stage winning against Argentina (3–1), drawing Uruguay (1–1) and a 2–1 win over the Soviet Union) they qualified for the final with Brazil at the Estádio do Maracanã. The Brazilian star Jairzinho scored in the 89th minute to give Brazil the win.
For the 1974 qualification stages, Portugal were placed in an accessible group, but were unable to defeat Bulgaria (2–2) in the decisive match, thus not qualifying. The only country Portugal managed to defeat was Cyprus, winning 4–0 and 1–0 in Nicosia. Portugal faced tough competition from the strong Poland team to claim the spot that would ensure them a place in the 1978 FIFA World Cup held in Argentina. They finished second place, behind Poland.
Late 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s The national team was put alongside Austria, Belgium, Norway, and Scotland to fight for the first spot in the group, which would allow them to go to the final stage of UEFA Euro 1980. With nine points, Portugal took third place, three points behind first-placed Belgium. Out of their four wins, the most important were the away win against second-placed Austria (2–1) and a home win against Scotland (1–0).
For the 1982 qualification the Portuguese team had to face Israel, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Sweden for the top two group places. Portugal finished in fourth place with seven points, less four than the first, with wins over group winners Scotland (2–1), second-placed Northern Ireland (1–0) and last-placed Israel (3–0), all in home ground.
During the campaign for Euro 1984, Portugal had to play with Finland, Poland and, highly favourites, Soviet Union. Portugal won the group with a dramatic win over USSR in the last game by a score of 1–0 in home ground. With ten points and five wins, the Portuguese had beaten the Soviet Union by one point.
Portugal ended in group B, alongside Spain, West Germany and Romania. In the first two games, they tied 0–0 and 1–1 against West Germany and Spain, respectively. A 1–0 win over Romania gave them second place in the group, which was enough to go through to the knockout stage. Benfica's Tamagnini Nené scored the winner.
They played against the hosts, France, and eventual champions, in one of the most exciting matches in European Championship history. France scored first, but Portugal equalised almost an hour later. The game was tied after 90 minutes and went into extra time. Portugal made the score 2–1 in the first 15 minutes, with both teams having numerous quality scoring chances. In the second half of extra time, France scored in the 114th and 119th minutes to eliminate Portugal 3–2 and go through to the final.
For the 1986 tournament, the Selecção played against Czechoslovakia, Malta, Sweden, and West Germany for the two spots that would guarantee them a ticket to Mexico. Needing a win in the last game against West Germany in Stuttgart, manager José Torres famously said to the press, after being severally doubted that his team would qualify for Mexico 1986, "Let me dream!" Portugal went on to win the game 1–0 to become the first team to beat West Germany at their home ground in an official match.