The Portuguese football team has three wins, two draws and two losses in their debut in World Cups, but they have not won their first match in the competition since the 2006 edition, which finished in fourth place.
After going 1-0 against Angola on their league debut in Germany, Portugal failed to triumph in the last three editions, drawing 0-0 against Ivory Coast in 2010 and 4-0 in 2014 to be defeated by Germany. , and in 2018 with a 3-3 draw against Spain.
Previously, Portugal started with two wins, against Hungary, 3-1, in the first match ever in a World Cup, in 1966, and against England, 1-0, in 1986, before suffering their first defeat, 3-2 , with the United States, in 2002.
The formation of the ‘quinas’ already qualified for the next phase after a win (1966 and 2006) or a draw (2010 and 2018) in the first leg, but never succeeded after a defeat (2002 and 2014). In 1986 he competed to win, but ‘fell’.
After missing the last leg of the first seven editions, Portugal finally managed to qualify in 1966 and got off to a great start in England, beating Hungary 3–1 in a Group 3 match which also saw Bulgaria and Brazil participated. from Pelé, then the two-time defending champion.
At the Old Trafford Stadium, in Manchester, the Portuguese team scored in the first minute, through José Augusto, who went on to score twice in 67 minutes, after Ferenc Bene equalized on 60 minutes. In the last minute, José Torres scored the third.
Portugal would also beat Bulgaria (3-0) and Brazil (3-1) to win the group. He also knocked out North Korea (5-3, after 0-3), with ‘poker’ from Eusébio, the league’s top scorer, with nine goals, to fall into the ‘half’ against hosts England (1-2 ).
Twenty years later, in Mexico, the formation of the ‘quinas’ started again in a ‘great’ way, beating the ‘almighty’ England 1-0 in Monterrey, where Carlos Manuel, who had already scored the qualifying goal, in the RFA (1-0), decided in the 74th minute.
In Group F, which could qualify for three – and it did – Portugal, ‘immersed’ in the ‘Saltillo case’, seemed to have everything to go forward, but then lost without goalkeeper Bento, who was injured, with Poland (0-1) and Morocco (1-3), and fell.
The formation of the ‘quinas’ returned in 2002, but this time it started in the worst way, with a 3-2 defeat to the United States, who led 3-0 in Suwon, with goals from John O’Brien, Jorge Costa (own goal) and Brian McBride).
Beto even reduced and an own goal by Jeff Agoos, in the 71st minute, gave hope to the Portuguese ‘eleven’, but a defeat, decisive for the elimination, could no longer be avoided in addition to the 0-1 that ended with co-hosts South Korea (0-1). The 4-0 against Poland was worthless.
In 2006, in Germany, Portugal returned to winning debuts (third in four appearances), this time beating Angola, in Cologne, 1-0, thanks to an early goal from Pauleta, his only goal in the competition, after four minutes. .
On the ‘route’ to a second appearance in the semi-finals (this time losing to France 1-0), Portugal defeated Iran 2-0 in the second game to guarantee a place in the ‘eighth’.
Four years later in South Africa, the Portuguese team faced the Ivory Coast on their debut and finished with a draw to nil, serving in the qualifying accounts as they went on to beat North Korea (7-0) and also 0-0 tied. with Brazil.
Portugal’s adventure in the 2010 World Cup would end shortly afterwards, in the ‘eighth’, with a 1-0 defeat against Spain, who would become champions.
In 2014, the formation of the ‘quinas’ made a nightmare debut by being thrashed 4-0 by Germany, winner with three goals from Thomas Müller and one from Mats Hummels, in a match that saw Pepe ruled out and Rui Patrício and Fábio Coentrao were wounded.
A draw with the United States (2-2) and a tangential win against Ghana (2-1) then dictated Brazil’s premature farewell.
In the last edition, Cristiano Ronaldo made a ‘dream’ debut and with three goals, the first from a penalty and the last in the superb execution of a direct free kick, he avoided Portugal’s defeat against Spain in the 88th minute, in a game that ended in third place.
Then Portugal won against Morocco (1-0) and drew in the last round with Iran (1-1), although with a fear of the end, but through to the ‘eighth’, in which he said goodbye to Russia, 2- 1 lost to Uruguay.
The debut of the formation of the ‘quinas’ in the 2022 edition is scheduled against Ghana at 19:00 local time (16:00 in Lisbon) on Thursday, in a first round meeting of Group H, scheduled for Estádio 974, in Doha.
Source: DN
