Dignitaries from all over the world will gather in Brazil in early December for the FIFA World Cup draw as the field of teams is divided into groups for next summer’s festivities. As part of its “32 teams in 32 days” series, sportsnet.ca will profile each of the nations set to compete at Brazil, leading up to the draw on Dec. 6.
These days it’s easy to think of Portugal as a perennial World Cup team, as one of world soccer’s tenured elite. They have Cristiano Ronaldo, of course, and way back when they had Eusebio. Glory present and past, right? Well, not so much. Coming onto the 20th World Cup, Portugal has only qualified six times. It took 36 years for the Seleção to reach its first tournament (1966 in England where, to be fair, Eusebio excelled and lead his team to third place), and another 20 after that to reach its second. But, still, these days, it’s hard to think of Portugal as anything but a consistent presence. Such is the passion for the team, and the success they’ve piled on recently. Qualified now for their fourth tournament in a row, they’re looking to improve on a run of two straight trips to the knockout round. If Ronaldo stays at the height of his powers, don’t rule anything out. If he falters…
Programming alert: Watch the World Cup draw from Brazil on Dec. 6 live on all four main Sportsnet channels. Coverage begins at 10:30 am ET/7:30 am PT | TV schedule
How they got here: Portugal struggled more than their group draw would have suggested. The apparent favourites, they spent much of the group stage in second or even third place, trailing Russia and Israel through a perpetually stalled campaign. The core of that struggle was a run from matchday three to matchday six: of nine possible points, Portugal collected just two, losing to Russia and drawing to Northern Ireland and Israel. In the end, the Portuguese managed to collect themselves in the nick of time, to scrape across the line and survive a deadly looking playoff against Sweden thanks to Ronaldo’s four-goal master class.
Key match: If only every World Cup match could be half as thrilling as last month’s qualifier between Portugal and Sweden. It was the quintessential do-or-die, last shot at the biggest show on Earth with goals, drama and heartbreak. And the thing is, all it really needed was two players: Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Forget everyone else on the pitch. This was always going to be settled one-on-one.
With the series at Ronaldo 1-0 Sweden after the opening leg in Portugal, Ronaldo struck again in the 50th minute in Stockholm. Then Ibra took over, scoring two goals inside five minutes to swing the Swedes into the ascendancy. It looked like he was destined to get the last goal to secure the hat trick and carry his team to Brazil. But it wasn’t to be. Ronaldo—of course Ronaldo—wasn’t finished yet. On the break, against a tide of yellow-and-blue momentum, Portugal’s talisman struck just five minutes after Ibra’s brace. Then again two minutes later. And that was it, in a contest of two of the game’s greats Ronaldo emerged victorious. Even Zlatan couldn’t help but applaud. Nine minutes, four goals, two huge swings of momentum and one superstar left standing. Cometh the hour, cometh the man.
Star player: Take a wild guess. Cristiano Ronaldo—Real Madrid superhero, likely Ballon d’Or winner, possible best player alive—is the fire that lights the Portuguese team. His nose for net, his ridiculous ball control, his free-kick ability are all the stuff of living legend. But he brings something else, too: a presence that elevates the team. Consider: Portugal struggled through much of qualifying, and through that time, through seven matches, Ronaldo had just one goal. As Ronaldo goes, so goes Portugal. He came alive at the end, bagging a second-half hat trick against Northern Ireland to pull things out of the fire and keep Portugal in the hunt. Then, of course, there was his four goals to sweep Portugal past Sweden in the playoff—a true superstar moment. What comes next? Well, the next goal Ronaldo scores will put him alone atop the all-time Portuguese scoring list. Expect it to be a big one—this is a man who rarely fails to deliver.
Player on the bubble: William Carvalho is having a breakout year. He may only be 21, but he’s established himself in Sporting’s top-of-the-table midfield, bagging two goals in the process. Just how close is he to Brazil? He made his first appearance for the senior team as a 73rd-minute substitute in the second leg against Sweden—right in the middle of the most important period of the biggest game of Portugal’s qualifying campaign. The problem? His position is filled. Carvalho is unlikely to displace Miguel Veloso as Portugal’s go-to midfield stopper. Manager Paulo Bento’s faith in Carvalho makes him a likely pick at this point, but the young man essentially has the rest of the season to lose his spot.
Team strengths: Beyond the obvious answer wearing the number seven shirt, Portugal finds strength in the midfield. The trio of Miguel Veloso, Raul Meireles and, especially, Joao Moutinho are Portugal’s engine room. It’s on them to get the ball, turn defence into attack and—crucially—create the chances that Ronaldo is so gifted at finishing. The second leg against Sweden showed Moutinho, especially, at his best. His perfectly weighted long balls set Ronaldo free on the break for the first and third goals, the latter an especially sublime effort, a 30 yard pass curling just beyond the Swedish defender and onto Ronaldo’s toe.
Team weaknesses: Being more than Ronaldo. Yes he’s great. Yes he’ll provide in Brazil. But still, he’s human. Portugal needs to find a way to compensate when the big man is having an off day, to compensate for a traditional lack of a number nine when their great number 10 isn’t at his best. Helder Postiga is good, but alone he’s not enough to carry Portugal against truly world-class teams. Ronaldo scored a third of the team’s goals in qualifying (eight of 24), which isn’t too big a problem on the face of it—having a superstar on the team tends to lead to lopsided scoring. The problem is that he scored seven of those eight goals in three games. In the loss and three draws that so nearly sunk Portugal’s qualifying, Ronaldo was held off the scoresheet. In two recent friendlies he missed due to injury, Portugal drew Gabon and lost to Brazil. As mentioned above: as Ronaldo goes, so goes Portugal.
World Cup record:
1930—Did not enter
1934 to 1962—Did not qualify
1966—Semifinals (third place)
1970 to 1982—Did not qualify
1986—First round
1990 to 1998—Did not qualify
2002—First round
2006—Semifinals (fourth place)
2010—Second round
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