Follow Portugal vs Morocco live at the World Cup quarterfinals.
Portugal have a team of stars, but there are discussions about which generation they turn to. The debate is familiar to anyone who has followed the Premier League season so far: should Ronaldo be in the starting XI? But there are a host of other older stars whose places are threatened by the production line of young talent in Portugal.
The manager
“I have one trophy left to win… the best is yet to come,” said a hubristic Fernando Santos, the man who has overseen Portugal winning the European Championship (2016) and the Nations League (2019).
Can he complete the hat-trick and lift the World Cup in 2022? Detractors — and he has many, despite being the most successful manager in the history of the Portuguese national team — would say that a mixed showing at Euro 2020, when they had the misfortune of facing Germany, France and Belgium during their four matches, should have signalled the end of his tenure.
They battered Belgium for long spells of that defeat in the round of 16 (23 shots to six), echoing their round of 16 defeat to Uruguay in the last World Cup (20 shots to five), which is the biggest issue for Santos; how to get the best out of what is, in theory, one of the most potent attacks in world football.
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Portugal and Santos’ Euro 2016 triumph was described as “anti-football” and, while that’s certainly not the case anymore, for all his success Santos has yet to marry his squad’s creative talents with a suitably stylistic formula in his preferred 4-3-3 formation. Not that that’s always what wins tournaments.
The household name you haven’t heard of yet
It’s hard to find non-household names in a squad where 11 players have commanded transfer fees of more than £30million ($34m) during their careers, but one of those expensive signings was pretty much unknown everywhere except Wolverhampton, Porto and Chorley until this summer: Vitinha.
Vitinha, formerly of Porto and once of Wolves on loan, scored his only goal in English football at Victory Park against the non-League Chorley. Only a few dozen people witnessed it in the flesh (it was during the pandemic) and for the rest of his time at Molineux he looked off the Premier League pace.
A productive season back at Porto was enough to convince Paris Saint-Germain to buy him in the summer and Vitinha is now blossoming into a creative, pace-setting midfielder of world-class quality. The prospect of him alongside Bruno Fernandes and Ruben Neves in midfield is a sensual one.
Strengths
High-level technical brilliance runs through the squad, reflective of players being given exceptional starts to their careers at Portugal’s three footballing powerhouses.
Of the 25 players called up for the recent Nations League matches in September, 21 had spent at least part of their formative years coming through the Benfica, Porto or Sporting academies. Of the four who hadn’t (Bruno Fernandes, Matheus Nunes, Pedro Neto and Diogo Jota), three have played for Sporting or Porto’s first team, with Neto the only exception.
That familiarity breeds togetherness and friendships but also intrinsic on-pitch understandings based on a grounding of technical and tactical training from a young age. The assembly line means there’s a conveyor belt of talent coming through, with Benfica striker Goncalo Ramos and PSG left-back Nuno Mendes two touted as “next big things”, all of which helps explain why the 16th largest European country in terms of population has become one of the best teams on the continent.
Weaknesses
Portugal’s forward options should be the envy of the vast majority of nations heading to Qatar. With an emphasis on should.
Cristiano Ronaldo? One of the best players in the history of the game. Diogo Jota? Ronaldo’s second-in-command up front and a regular goalscorer for one of the biggest clubs in the world. Joao Felix? One of the most expensive players of all time with the potential to be a superstar. Andre Silva? He scored 31 goals in 2020-21; very good striker. Rafa Silva? Eleven goals and five assists in 22 matches for Benfica this season. Pedro Neto? A fiery, burgeoning talent who some rate as having a higher ceiling than Jota. Goncalo Guedes? Eleven goals in La Liga last season and a good back-up option.
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That may be the expectation, but the reality at the moment is very different.
Ronaldo can’t get into Manchester United’s first XI and has criticised the club for “betraying” him. Jota will miss the tournament through injury. Felix has only scored three in 17 for Atletico this season. Andre Silva no longer commands a starting spot for RB Leipzig, with just a single goal and assist in 14 Bundesliga appearances. Rafa Silva surprisingly retired from international football in the summer having grown tired of being benched by Santos for 22 of his 47 call-ups. Neto is injured. Guedes has made a seriously underwhelming start to life in the Premier League with Wolves.
Squad newcomers Rafael Leao and Ricardo Horta may need to step up if what is in theory Portugal’s greatest strength isn’t to become its weakness in Qatar.
Local knowledge
Paulo Bento will be hoping he inflicts another World Cup group-stage exit on Portugal. He managed them in 2014 when they were dumped out at the group stage, having lost heavily to Germany and only drawn against the US. Bento now manages Portugal’s group opponents South Korea.
That game also conjures up memories of one of Portugal’s most memorable World Cup games. Back in 1966 in England, they were shockingly 3-0 down to North Korea in a quarter-final at Goodison Park, only for a Eusebio-inspired Portugal (he scored four times) to hit back and win 5-3.
Expectations back home
If you haven’t had enough of the “should Ronaldo be in Man United’s team?” debate you’re in for a treat. Expectations around Portugal’s hopes generally hinge on the same question marks over his role in Portugal’s team.
There’s a growing school of thought that Ronaldo (aged 37), Joao Moutinho (36), Pepe (39) and manager Santos (68) are the past, while Leao, Nunes, Vitinha, Ramos and Mendes are the future around which Portugal’s second/third/fourth (delete as applicable) golden generation should be built.
Given Ronaldo’s legendary status it’s an emotive argument. His sister said recently: “(The criticism) does not surprise me in today’s times. Portuguese people spit on the plate from which they have eaten.” Blimey.
The barbs are fuelled by the theory that Ronaldo effectively manages the team. If so, expect him to play every minute in Qatar.
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Portugal struggled through qualification and reached Qatar via the play-offs, but any team containing Bernardo Silva, Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Fernandes, Neves and, yes, Ronaldo, has the quality to go far.
Read more: See the rest of The Athletic’s World Cup 2022 squad guides
Read more: Portugal held on to beat Ghana 3-2 in their opening World Cup match.
Read more: Cristiano Ronaldo became the first man to score in five World Cups with a penalty against Ghana
Read more: Portugal vs Uruguay result: Fernandes double secures progression for Portuguese
(Photos: Getty Images; design: Sam Richardson)
