Portugal

The Portuguese national team has had access to a wide range of world-class players for many years. However, despite having so many great players to choose from, the team hasn’t been able to become as strong and scary as its fans think it should be.

At both the Euro 2020 tournament and the tense qualifying round for the 2022 World Cup, the lack of cohesiveness was painfully obvious. In the end, Portugal won the play-offs by defeating Turkey and North Macedonia; however, they were extremely fortunate not to have to face Italy, the reigning European champion, in order to secure their place in Qatar.

It would be irresponsible to completely write off Portugal’s chances of winning the trophy in December given the fact that Fernando Santos is the most successful coach in Portugal’s history and has been in the position for the longest amount of time. Santos also has a large number and variety of players who are good enough to compete at the highest level.

TACTICS

Fernando Santos is a major supporter of the 4-4-2 formation, which was the system he used to lead Portugal to victory at Euro 2016. However, he has experimented with the 4-3-3 system on occasion. Considering the wide range of players, he has at his disposal, this may be the way things are set up in Qatar.

The glory of winning Euro 2016 has worn off, and supporters are becoming increasingly disillusioned with Santos’s failure to get the best performance out of an outstanding side. 

READY TO SHINE

Bernardo Silva

Having an increasingly significant impact, he has been the driving force behind Portugal’s success during the previous two years.