Portugal OVERVIEW 
For a country that has produced some of the best talents in World Football, their qualification record for the World Cup is surprisingly poor. After the legendary Eusabio fired the Portuguese to a third place finish in 1966, much was expected but it took the country a further 20 years to reach the finals again. In 86 however there was no repeat of before and they were eliminated in the first round. History repeated itself in the 2002 tournament when they were surprising beaten by South Korea and never recovered. The 2004 European Championships on home soil proved much more fruitful. They reached the final and were favourites to win, only for one of the biggest football shocks to take place as Greece beat them 1-0. With a good squad of players though and the sensational Cristiano Ronaldo leading the attack, Portugal will need no motivating for a better showing at the 2006 World Cup.
Scroll down the page for world cup statistics of Portugal and
background information on the country.
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Portugal World Cup Statistics
Confederation: EuropePrevious World Cup Appearances: 1966, 1986, 2002 Best Finish: 3rd Place (1966) Portugal General Information
Capital City: LisbonCurrency: Euro Population: 10.1 million Official Languages: Portuguese Country History and Background
Portugal, nation in southwestern Europe, occupying the western portion of the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal lies south and west of Spain, with which it shares the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal’s long coastline faces the Atlantic Ocean. Portuguese territory also includes two autonomous archipelagos, the Azores (Açores) and the Madeira Islands, both located in the Atlantic. Lisbon (Portuguese Lisboa) is Portugal’s capital and largest city.Following its heyday as a world power during the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal lost much of its wealth and status with the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the independence in 1822 of Brazil as a colony. A 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy; for most of the next six decades, repressive governments ran the country. In 1974, a left-wing military coup installed broad democratic reforms. The following year, Portugal granted independence to all of its African colonies. Portugal is a founding member of NATO and entered the EC (now the EU) in 1986. Player to Watch
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