Portugal national football team (Seleção Portuguesa de Futebol) is the official representative of the Portuguese Republic in international football competitions. Major achievements include winning the 15th European Championship (2016) and the UEFA Nations League (2018/2019). The Portuguese national team reached the final of the Twelfth European Championship (2004), finished 3rd at the 8th FIFA World Cup (1966), European Championships (1984, 2000, 2012), and the Confederations Cup (2017).
The first-ever match of the Portuguese national team was held on December 18, 1921, against Spain. The match was held in Madrid and ended in a 3-1 victory for the Spanish. And the debut official tournament for the Portuguese national team was the IX Olympic Games, held in Amsterdam, in 1928. In March 1934, the Portuguese national team for the first time took part in qualifying for the world championship, the Second World Cup, but again lost to Spain.
In the qualifying cycle for the Eighth World Cup in 1966, the Portuguese for the first time in history made it to the final stage of a major tournament. In this championship, the Portuguese national team won bronze.
The Euro 2016 gold is the biggest success in the history of the Portuguese team. However, it was close to triumph earlier too. The Portuguese have won European Championships silver once and bronze three times. In 2017, Portugal finished third in the Confederations Cup.
Three times the Portuguese national team has won 8-0, the highest score in its history. The biggest defeat Portugal suffered on May 25, 1947, from England on its field – 0:10. This was a friendly match, and it was the first in what has become a long history of meetings between Portugal and England.
The Portuguese national team is now ranked fourth in the world rankings. The highest position in its place is third. On this line, the Portuguese team climbed in May 2010 and then returned several times. The lowest position of the national team was 43rd, in August 1998.
In January 2023, the legendary Fernando Santos was replaced as coach of the Portuguese national team by Spaniard Roberto Martinez. He proved himself well at the club level, working with the mid-table players of EPL. After that Martinez trained the Belgian national team for 7 years.
At first, Portuguese soccer players used a small coat of arms, the heraldic shield. In the center are five small blue shields that form the shape of a cross. There are five silver bezants on these shields each. In general, they are just mugs, but in heraldry, they symbolize money and wealth. In the edging of the large shield – seven gold shields.
In 1966, the national team and the Football Federation got their emblem, but only the five small shields with bezants remained from the state symbol. They emphasized the independence of the country, in 1143 the Kingdom of Portugal received recognition, and the monarch got the right to issue their coins. The shape of the cross is an adaptation of the Cross of the Order of St. James.
There is no lettering on the official logo of the Portugal National Football Team, just the “F.P.F” abbreviation, drawn on it in a modest handwritten sans-serif, with bold outlined bars and distinctive contours.
As for the color palette of the Portugal National Football Team’s visual identity, it is based on a combination of red and gold, with additions of white and blue. The primary colors stand for royalty, professionalism, and passion; while the secondary evolve a sense of reliability and trustworthiness.