'I’m not going to change' - FC Porto star Galeno makes Brazil admission after snubbing Portugal
FC Porto’s Galeno has no regrets over his decision to represent Brazil ahead of Portugal.
Portugal were also crowned UEFA Nations League champions in 2019, and are famous for iconic players across generations, including Eusebio, Luis Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Former Belgium manager Roberto Martinez succeeded Fernando Santos as head coach, who left the role after eight years in charge at the end of 2022 World Cup.
Portugal were not invited to the first FIFA World Cup in 1930 due to the early format of the tournament, and thereafter failed in multiple qualification attempts before the Second World War halted World Cups for 12 years. In 1950, they were invited to replace Spain, who had withdrawn from participating in the tournament, but declined the invitation.
The 1950s saw continuing failed attempts for Portugal to qualify for the World Cup as major international soccereluded the Selecao. A comprehensive 9-1 defeat to Austria ended their qualification for the 1954 World Cup, while they could not finish top of their qualifying group in 1958 - but better times were soon around the corner.
In the 1960s, Portuguese soccer scaled unprecedented heights. At the 1960 European Championship, they went all the way to the quarter-finals before eventually being eliminated by Yugoslavia, thus failing to qualify for what was then a four-team knockout finals tournament.
Portugal finished behind England in their 1962 World Cup qualification group and therefore missed out on the finals and were eliminated in a qualifying play-off for the 1964 European Championships by Bulgaria.
He was the top scorer at the tournament with nine goals as Portugal beat Hungary, Bulgaria and Brazil in the group stages before eliminating North Korea in the quarter-finals. Portugal lost 2-1 to hosts England in the semi-finals, but beat the Soviet Union 2-1 in the third-place play-off. This remains their best outcome at a World Cup to date.
France were the Selecao's opponents in the semi-finals of the tournament and a dramatic match ensued. Portugal equalised late on inside 90 minutes to take the tie to extra time, before taking the lead in the first half of the additional half-hour. However, France struck twice in quick succession before the final whistle to take a 3-2 win on the day and progress to the final.
They beat England, Romania and Germany to top Group A and then Turkey in the quarter-finals. However, a penalty against Abel Xavier for handball in extra time, converted by Zinedine Zidane, saw France beat Portugal in the semi-finals.
The 2002 World Cup saw Portugal eliminated in the group stage and manager Antonio Oliveira fired.
Shortly before Euro 2004, Portugal hired one of their most successful managers ever, Luiz Felipe Scolari, who had won the 2002 World Cup with Brazil.
On home soil at the European Championships, Portugal lost the first game 2-1 to Greece. They subsequently recovered, beating Russia 2-0 and Spain 1-0. They beat England on penalties after a 2-2 draw in the quarter-finals and went on to defeat the Netherlands 2-1 in the semi-finals.
Portugal enjoyed another impressive run at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. They topped Group D after beating Angola, Iran and Mexico, beating the Netherlands 1-0 in the round of 16 in a match which infamously saw 16 yellow cards and four red cards.
In the quarter-finals, Portugal beat England on penalties following a 0-0 draw. This was another hot-tempered affair marked by Cristiano Ronaldo winking after Wayne Rooney was sent off - a gesture perceived by some as disrespectful to his then-Manchester United team-mate. Ronaldo and Rooney continued to enjoy a productive relationship at club level afterwards.
Portugal lost 1-0 to France in the semi-finals and went down 3-1 to hosts Germany in the third-place play-off.
Portugal took a strong side to UEFA Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland, but there was a distraction hanging over the camp as Scolari would be off to Chelsea following the completion of the tournament.
Carlos Queiroz led Portugal into the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Once again, Portugal lost their first knockout match, losing 1-0 to Spain in the last 16. After the tournament, Simao, Paulo Ferreira, Miguel and Tiago all retired from international soccer.
Portugal were thrashed 4-0 by Germany in their first game of the 2014 World Cup. They were unable to recover sufficiently in their next two fixtures, drawing 2-2 with the USA and winning 2-1 against Ghana, crashing out in the group stages.
Former Porto, Sporting CP and Benfica boss Fernando Santos replaced Bento as manager in September 2014.
After three disappointing draws in the group stages, Portugal only managed to scrape through to the knockout stages by virtue of being one of the best third-placed teams. From then on, the team would maintain their habit of drawing in 90 minutes.
Their round-of-16 tie against Croatia went the distance, but Portugal spared themselves the lottery of penalties with a 117th-minute winner from the experienced Ricardo Quaresma.
Santos and his side went to extra time again in the last eight, but this time overcame a dogged Poland side 5-3 on penalties to set up a tie with surprise semi-finalists, Wales.
Waiting for them in the showpiece match were tournament hosts and future World Cup winners France. Disaster struck midway through the first half when talisman Ronaldo was forced off through injury 25 minutes in.
Ronaldo starred in the inaugural UEFA Nations League finals, where Portugal defeated the Netherlands 1-0 to claim the crown in 2019.
The presence of an ageing Ronaldo was starting to loom large over the Portugal squad in the 2020s. But he continued to be a key figure on the pitch.
He came into Euro 2020 with the chance to break more records. In his first game of the tournament, he scored twice in Portugal's 3-0 win over Hungary.
He was dropped to the bench for Portugal's World Cup last-16 clash with Switzerland. Santos was unhappy with the veteran's reaction to being substituted towards the end of the group stage 2-1 loss to South Korea.
Portugal parted company with Santos after the tournament. He had been in charge for eight years and brought the country its most success.
Eusebio was a crucial player not only because of his incredible achievements on the field of play, but because he paved the way for his fellow African players to star in Europe. He passed away in January 2014 and was mourned across the world.
Midfielder Luis Figo was one of the most talked-about players of his generation, particularly when he infamously transferred from Barcelona to rivals Real Madrid.
Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably the most iconic Portuguese footballer ever and the Euro 2016 triumph was notable partially because he was able to get his hands on a major international prize before Argentina's Lionel Messi, his main rival for accolades in his generation.
Portugal have a longstanding rivalry with Spain, dating back as far as Portugal's very early matches in 1921. It is known as 'The Iberian War' or 'The Iberian Derby'. Spain have generally had the better of this fixture, even in recent times.
Portugal's national team is followed across the world, partially because of the many players with roots in other countries (for example, Eusebio is widely considered to be an African player as well as Portuguese due to having been born in Mozambique).
FC Porto’s Galeno has no regrets over his decision to represent Brazil ahead of Portugal.
The international break continues on Sunday but don’t bash your head against the wall just yet – we might actually see some goal-mouth action.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the greatest goalscorer in international football, but the Portuguese forward is far from done and could improve his tally further against Liechtenstein.
The Euro 2024 Qualifiers come to a conclusion this week and Planet Sport has put together our latest bookie-busting acca attempt.
Joao Felix's journey from Atletico Madrid to Barcelona is proving to be a captivating story for football enthusiasts.
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes feels honoured to play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, and doesn't think there will ever be a player like him again.
Planet Sport has picked out three bets for Friday night’s Euro 2024 qualifiers including the showdown between Netherlands and France.