(Reuters) – Following is a statbox on Portugal at the World Cup.
FIFA Ranking: 9
Odds: 12-1
Previous tournaments:
Portugal made their World Cup debut in England in 1966, knocking out champions Brazil and reaching the semi-finals, finishing in third place, which is their best result in the tournament. They participated only once between 1966 and 1998, in Mexico 1986, but have qualified for every edition since 2002. They reached the semis again in 2006, losing 1-0 to France. Since then they have not got further than the last 16, losing to eventual champions Spain in 2010 and to Uruguay in 2018. In Brazil 2014 they were knocked out in the group stage.
How they qualified:
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal had to go through the pain of the playoffs after losing 2-1 at home in their final group stage game against Serbia to an Aleksandar Mitrovic goal in added time when they only needed a draw to reach Qatar as Group A winners. Instead, they had to beat Turkey (3-1) and North Macedonia (2-0) in playoff games at Porto to book their trip to the tournament.
Form guide:
Pressure and criticism are high for underachievers Portugal who have had a series of disappointing results since winning the opening edition of the Nations League at home in 2019. They were knocked out by Belgium in the last 16 of the European Championships in 2021, had to go through the playoffs to qualify for the World Cup and failed to reach the final four of the Nations League for the second consecutive year.
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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