Portugal: We represent the first contender of the Ukrainian national team in the Euro-2020 qualifying round

22.03.2019 15:58

Photo by uefa.com

Today the national team of Ukraine will start in the qualifying tournament of the European Championship 2020. We present our first opponent - the current champion of the continent, the national team of Portugal.

Portugal

General Information

As of February 2019, the Portuguese rank sixth in the official FIFA rankings. The Portuguese national team played its first match in history in 1921. Despite the solid age and the large number of stars who performed at different times in its composition, the team won the first title only in 2016. In France, she became European champion. 

However, her achievements include the final of the European Championship in 2004, three bronze medals at the Continental Championships (1984, 2000, 2012) and a bronze medal at the 1966 World Championships. Three of her players - Eisebio, Luis Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo - received the Golden Ball. The team is nicknamed "Celesao" and "European Brazilians".

Squad

In the Euro 2020 qualifying matches with Ukraine and Serbia, the head coach of the Portuguese national team Fernando Santos can count on 24 performers:

Among the clubs, the largest representation in "Celesao" are the Portuguese "Benfica" and the English "Wolverhampton" - four players each, among the national championships - the domestic championship, which delegated to the team of seven performers. The average age of the Portuguese national team is 26,9 years. The oldest player is Betu goalkeeper from Geztepe, who turned 36, and the youngest is 19-year-old forward Joao Felish from Benfica.

Head Coach

64-year-old Portuguese specialist Fernando Santos has been coaching the national team since September 23, 2014. After the defeat in the opening match of the Euro 2016 qualifiers against the Albanians (0: 1), he replaced Paulo Bent. All the next seven matches, the Portuguese won and reached the final of the European Championship. There, Santos' wards won their first title in history, defeating the French national team in extra time in the final (1: 0). 

Photo by uefa.com

The next big tournament of the Portuguese national team under the leadership of Santos was the Confederations Cup 2017. On it "European Brazilians" took the third place. At the 2018 World Cup, the Portuguese team did not perform very well, losing in the 1/8 finals to the Uruguayans (1: 2). Then he took part in the UEFA League of Nations, where the Portuguese in the fight against Italy and Poland reached the final of the tournament, which will take place on June 5-9 this year.

On July 19, 2016, Santos signed a new contract with the Portuguese Football Federation, which runs until 2020. In the same 2016, he was named the best coach of the year among the leaders of national teams according to Globe Soccer.

Team

The main goalkeeper of the Portuguese national team is 31-year-old Rui Patricio from English "Wolverhampton". He played 77 matches for the national team, conceding 64 goals. He became a member of the symbolic national team of Euro-2016.

The most experienced in the line of defense is 36-year-old Pepe from Porto. The powerful and dedicated fighter has 103 fights in the form of the Portuguese national team. He will most likely be assisted in the center of defense by Jose Fonte of Lille, and on the flanks by Joao Consello of Juventus and Rafael Guerreiro of Borussia Dortmund.

In the midfield, the Portuguese team has a surprisingly wide selection of performers. Pizza, Danilo Pereira, Joao Moutinho, Joao Mario or William Carvalho can play in the center. Bernards Silva, Rafa Silva, Diogo Jota and Joao Felish can play as wingers. 

In attack, Cristiano Ronaldo can be accompanied by Andre Silva (31 matches, 15 goals for the national team) or the newly naturalized Brazilian Diego Souza, who scored 14 goals in the current Portuguese championship.

Leader

Five-time winner of the Golden Ball, four-time winner of the Golden Boot, owner of 27 trophies of world and European football, record holder of the Portuguese national team in the number of matches played for it (154) and the best scorer of the national team (85 goals) no presentation required. 

Photo by fpf.pt

Cristiano Ronaldo, 34, is in great shape, as evidenced by his recent appearances for Juventus in the Champions League. It was the hat-trick of the star Portuguese that brought Stara Signora to the quarterfinals of the most prestigious European club tournament. And although the Portuguese national team in the League of Nations did without its leader and captain, according to experts, only with Ronaldo it can demonstrate a game of the highest world level. 

Recall that the Euro-2020 match in Lisbon between the national teams of Portugal and Ukraine will start today at 21.45.