Portugal’s road to the 2027 UEFA European U17 Championship begins on 11 November when Round 1 of the qualifiers begins in Oeiras.
The ‘Equipa das Quinas’ are in Group 6 alongside Andorra, Bulgaria and Serbia, all three matches to be played at Cidade do Futebol.
There will be extra focus on Filipe Ramos’ side after the manager called up Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Júnior.
Portugal aiming for seventh appearance
Portugal have featured at the European U17 Championship on six occasions, winning in 2003, 2016 and 2025. The 2025 champions made history by going to Qatar and winning the FIFA U17 World Cup.
There was no joy in the previous edition after José Lima’s side failed to qualify in the new format which features only eight teams at the tournament.
Portugal contested Group 2 of the qualifiers in Italy where they began against the hosts, taking an early 2-0 lead before going down 3-2 in Gubbio. They never recovered, a 1-0 defeat to Romania followed by a 2-1 loss against Iceland saw them finish bottom of the group.
Successful preparation
Portugal recently won three friendlies which were played in the Coimbra district. Samuel Tavares and Diego Farinha scored in a 2-0 victory against Saudi Arabia in Cantanhede followed by a 1-0 win against Qatar, António Pereira the goalscorer in Luso.
The toughest test came against Denmark at Estádio Municipal Sérgio Conceição in Taveiro. Victor Bastianele’s 38th goal was the difference in a 1-0 victory, Portugal holding on to make it three wins with clean sheets.
All eyes on Cristiano Ronaldo Jr.
Just as we see with his father, Cristiano Ronaldo Jr. is likely to grab all the headlines as he attempts to become a key player for the U17 side.
The teenager scored two goals in four games for the U15s and three goals in nine matches for the U16s. Ronaldo’s son has scored three goals in seven games for Al Nassr’s U17 side this season.
Filipe Ramos will be bombarded with questions and the quantity of photographers will explode. The manager might have some difficult decisions to make in the best interests of the team.
One thing is for sure, that this much spotlight on a 16-year-old is unhealthy for everyone involved. The pressure he is under to succeed is immense, and we already know that the mainstream media will be relentless.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Tiago Amorim (Vitória de Guimarães), Nickolas Andrade (Hoffenheim), André Marques (Braga)
Defenders: Francisco Costa (Vitória de Guimarães), Tomás Pedrosa (Benfica), Miguel Varanda (Benfica), Gonçalo Silva (Benfica), Afonso Baldé (Benfica), Kauã Miranda (Santos), Salvador Valente (Porto), Salvador Oliveira (Porto)
Midfielders: Diego Farinha (Sporting CP), João Lopes (Porto) Victor Bastianele (Sporting CP), Guilherme Castro (Benfica), Gonçalo Fontes (Porto)
Forwards: António Pereira (Porto), Carlos Moita (Braga) Leonardo Damião (Sporting CP), Simão Lopes (Benfica), Rafael Cabral (Braga), João Maia (Braga), Cristiano Ronaldo Jr. (Al Nassr)
Fixtures
Group 6 - Wednesday 11 November 2026
15:00 GMT - Portugal vs Andorra (Cidade do Futebol, Oeiras)
Group 6 - Saturday 14 November 2026
15:00 GMT - Portugal vs Bulgaria (Cidade do Futebol, Oeiras)
Group 6 – Tuesday 17 November 2026
11:00 GMT - Portugal vs Serbia (Cidade do Futebol, Oeiras)
