Four requirements for Portugal to build a World Cup winning squad  

“Champions realise that defeat - and learning from it even more than from winning - is part of the path to mastery.”  - Rasheed Ogunlaru

Euro 2020 was a revelatory tournament. An exposé highlighting essential criteria for building modern, championship-calibre teams. It also advertised characteristics which have proven most successful in major tournaments spanning many generations, football cultures, and the tactical zeitgeist.

Euro 2020 is rapidly fading into the distance as supporters of 23 nations continue to ponder what went wrong. Fortunately, there is just over 16 months until a chance at redemption at the 2022 World Cup.

Many Portuguese ‘supporters’ are hoping that the likely campaign in Qatar will be undertaken without Fernando Santos. The Seleção head coach has come under severe criticism from all corners of the football world.

With a contract running until July 2024 and the support of the squad, there is next to no chance Santos won’t be on the touchline in Qatar. That won’t stop many from persisting with the relentless criticism aimed at the most successful manager in the history of Portuguese football.

PortuGOAL’s Matthew Marshall argues the case for sticking with Santos. 

After a brilliant breakout campaign with Benfica and his consequent record-breaking move to Atletico Madrid, João Félix was backed to become an immediate superstar for Portugal.

However, he has struggled to take the next step in his development over the last two years, failing to make a decisive impact for Atletico in La Liga, despite their title win in the 2020/21 campaign. 

Portugal’s European Championship defence came to a disappointing end in Seville last night as Belgium narrowly overcame the Seleção in the last 16.

A difficult pill to swallow for Fernando Santos and his side, who’s group display felt like it warranted avoiding defeat at the least. Here’s PortuGOAL’s verdict on how the individuals performed.