The Portugal national football team is the national football team of Portugal and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation.
Portugal has never won any major competition at senior level, but they usually play very attractive football and can produce some great performances, playing head-to-head with the world's best national sides. Over the last 3 European championships they have progressively performed better each time, reaching their first major final at Euro 2004, losing to Greece.
Portugal's best World Cup performance was in 1966, when they reached the semifinals and lost only to eventual world champions England. Led by their legendary player Eusébio, they put up amazing performances, knocking out previous World Cup champions Brazil and fighting back from a 3-0 result in the quarterfinals against North Korea, winning by 5-3. Portugal eventually finished in third place and Eusébio was considered the best player of the tournament.
The team has proven itself equally capable of mediocre performances against inferior teams. On October 9, 2004, Portugal suffered a humiliating 2-2 draw against Liechtenstein in a 2006 World Cup qualifier. The Liechtenstein team, playing at home, had never earned a point in its previous 20 World Cup qualifiers, and Portugal blew a 2-0 halftime lead. The Portuguese media savaged the team after the draw; one Lisbon paper called the team "Europe's Laughingstock." The team took out its frustrations four days later with a 7-1 demolition of Russia, the largest defeat ever for the Russian side since the demise of the Soviet Union.
Portugal will be playing in Group A with the Czech Republic, co-hosts Switzerland and Turkey.
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