Back
Aron Wright - June 5, 2026
Portugal arrive at the 2026 World Cup 2026 as one of the favourites and with a mission that goes beyond football.
Diogo Jota died in a car accident in July 2025. He was 28 years old and one of the best forwards in the Premier League. He was part of Roberto Martinez’s plans for this tournament.
The manager named him as the symbolic plus-one in the squad. His number travels with this group to North America. Every player at this tournament carries that with them.
Portugal are drawn in Group K of the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside Colombia, DR Congo and Uzbekistan. For all our World Cup 2026 predictions and analysis visit LeagueLane.
The squad Martinez has assembled is extraordinary. The midfield alone could compete with any nation in the world. Cristiano Ronaldo makes a record sixth World Cup appearance at the age of 41.
He needs three goals to break the all-time tournament scoring record. The group is manageable. The real question is what happens when the knockout rounds begin and whether this squad can finally deliver Portugal’s first World Cup title.
Appearances: 9 | Best finish: Third place (1966) | Quarter-finals in 2022
Portugal made their World Cup debut in 1966 in England and immediately produced their finest ever tournament. Eusebio drove them to the semi-finals with nine goals, the most in that edition of the tournament. They beat Hungary, Brazil and Bulgaria in the group, came back from 3-0 down to beat North Korea 5-3 in the quarter-finals, lost to eventual champions England in the semi-finals and beat the Soviet Union in the third-place play-off. It remains the high point of Portuguese football history at a World Cup.
After 1966 they went 20 years without qualifying. They returned in 1986 but went out in the group stage despite beating England. Group stage exits followed in 2002 and 2014. In 2006 in Germany they came closest to matching 1966. Luis Figo, Deco and a young Cristiano Ronaldo reached the semi-finals before losing to France and then Germany in the third-place play-off. Fourth place. In 2010 they reached the round of 16. In 2018 they went out to Uruguay in the round of 16. In 2022 they reached the quarter-finals before Morocco eliminated them on penalties. The World Cup title is the one thing missing from Portuguese football history and this squad is the most capable of ending that wait.
Martinez was born in Balaguer, Catalonia and played most of his career in English football before moving into management. He won the FA Cup with Wigan Athletic in 2013 against Manchester City, one of the great upsets in the competition’s history. He spent three years at Everton before taking the Belgium job in 2016. He guided Belgium to third place at the 2018 World Cup, their best ever finish, and took them to number one in the FIFA world rankings. He resigned after Belgium’s group stage exit in Qatar in 2022.
He was appointed Portugal manager in January 2023. His first year brought fast qualification for Euro 2024 and a Nations League title in 2025. He has changed the dynamic around Ronaldo. Where Fernando Santos dropped him for knockout matches in 2022, Martinez has built the squad around him and around the extraordinary talent available to him. He is calm, detailed and excellent at managing big personalities. The challenge at this World Cup is to go further than the quarter-finals Portugal have reached in 2022 and finally deliver the title.
Formation: 4-3-3
Martinez uses a 4-3-3 with Vitinha as the deepest midfielder, setting the tempo and protecting the defence. Joao Neves operates as the left-sided central midfielder with the freedom to press and carry forward. Bruno Fernandes plays as the most advanced of the three, linking midfield to attack and taking responsibility for set pieces and penalties. Ronaldo leads the line from the left. Bernardo Silva and Pedro Neto provide width from the right and the inside channel.
The system is built on control. Portugal keep the ball, move it quickly and create through combination play in tight spaces. When they lose possession they press immediately. The full-backs push high. Nuno Mendes at left back is as dangerous as most forwards in this group. Joao Cancelo provides the same at right back. Portugal can attack from every area of the pitch and their defensive shape is compact enough to handle the counter-attack. It is the most complete tactical system in Group K.
Ronaldo is the most decorated player in the history of international football. He has won five Ballon d’Or awards. He is the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football. He has eight World Cup goals across five tournaments and needs three more to break the all-time tournament scoring record. At 41 he is not the explosive force he once was. His pace has gone. His positioning, his finishing and his ability to produce the decisive moment in the biggest games remain completely intact. This is his final World Cup. He knows it. Martinez knows it. The squad knows it. Ronaldo will give everything he has left.
Fernandes is the engine of this Portugal team. He had one of the best individual seasons of his career at Manchester United and arrives at this tournament in outstanding form. He drives play from midfield, takes set pieces, scores important goals and carries the creative burden that Ronaldo no longer can in his own right. Martinez trusts him completely. When Portugal need a moment of quality in a tight game, Fernandes is the one who provides it. He is the most important outfield player in this squad.
Vitinha is the metronome of Portugal’s system. He controls the tempo, breaks lines with quick passes and keeps the ball moving with a composure that makes him almost impossible to press effectively. At PSG he won everything this season. He is not a flashy player. He is a player who makes everything around him better. Without Vitinha, Portugal’s system loses its rhythm. With him at the base of midfield they have the platform to attack with freedom and defend with organisation.
Neves is 21 years old and already one of the best midfielders in European football. He plays alongside Vitinha at PSG and the combination of the two in Portugal’s midfield gives Martinez something very few international managers have at their disposal. Neves presses relentlessly, wins the ball cleanly and plays forward with intelligence and pace. His age makes him the most exciting player in this squad in terms of long-term potential. At this World Cup he is already good enough to be one of the best midfielders in the tournament.
Dias is Portugal’s best defender and the player who gives the defensive unit its organisation and authority. He has not played since March due to a hamstring injury and his fitness coming into this tournament is a genuine concern. When fully fit he is one of the best centre-backs in world football. His presence transforms Portugal’s defensive shape. Without him, Goncalo Inacio covers competently but the step down in quality is real. Martinez will monitor him closely in the opening games and manage his minutes if necessary.
Leao is one of the most exciting forwards in European football and the player who gives Portugal a different kind of attacking threat when he comes on or starts. His pace and directness from the left side cause defenders enormous problems and his ability to beat players one against one is unmatched in this squad. Martinez has sometimes used him from the bench as a game-changer and sometimes started him ahead of other options. At his best he is unplayable. At this World Cup he is the player most likely to produce the moment of individual brilliance that decides a knockout game.
Portugal will win Group K. The DR Congo and Uzbekistan games should deliver six points without too much drama. Martinez will manage his key players carefully and arrive at the Colombia game on June 27 in Miami with his best team available.
The Colombia game is the one that defines Portugal’s tournament confidence heading into the knockouts. A win in Miami tells the world Portugal are ready to go all the way.
A defeat or a draw raises questions about whether this squad can handle the pressure of being favourites. Martinez will approach it as a must-win regardless of the group standing.
For a betting angle, Portugal to win all three group games with Fernandes to score at least once is a reasonable play. His record of stepping up in big moments for both club and country is well documented.
The odds on Ronaldo to score against DR Congo should also attract attention. He has never missed a World Cup without scoring and his motivation to chase the all-time record will make him dangerous from the first minute against the Leopards.
