Portugal are one of the most talented sides heading to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Spearheaded by the evergreen Cristiano Ronaldo, who is set to play his last tournament at 41, the Selecao boast a healthy mix of prodigious young talents and experienced stalwarts.
Ranked fifth in the world, there are great expectations from Roberto Martinez's swashbuckling team following a dominant qualifier run that yielded four wins from six and just one defeat as Portugal finished atop Group F standings to seal a direct ticket to the north American showpiece.
While their overall form has developed under Martinez who took charge of the side in 2023 following Fernando Santos' departure, Portugal failed to impress at the Euro 2024. The 2016 champions lost out in the quarter-finals while failing to score in three consecutive games.
Now the Iberian side are looking to impress at the World Cup as Martinez has called-up a promising squad, which also features Manchester City duo Ruben Neves and Bernardo Silva, Manchester United's creative chieftain Bruno Fernandes, Al-Nassr's Joao Felix and AC Milan talisman Rafael Leao among others.
Borussia Dortmund forward misses out
Given the competition for places in the squad, a few talented Portuguese stars have missed the bus, notably Borussia Dortmund forward Fabio Silva.
The 23-year-old arrived from Wolverhampton Wanderers injured, so his BVB debut was delayed by a few weeks. Once fit, Silva was used sparingly by Niko Kovac but picked up the pace soon enough.
In just his third appearance, Silva registered the first of his seven assists in the 2025-26 season. He became a valuable figure off the bench for the BVB so Kovac gave him first-team chances too.
However, the young gun's limitations became clear: Silva lacked the force to lead the squad, running out of ideas upfront while lacking the firepower to make his chances count.
It's no coincidence that both his goals in the Bundesliga, came when he was subbed into the match from the bench. It showed the former Wolves striker still has plenty of room to improve.
Where he genuinely made a mark, was to create space for Guirassy to run into as Silva dragged markers away from the Guinean with his intelligent runs, and retrospectively opened up defenses.
It clearly wasn't enough to convince Martinez though, who is spoilt for choice in the attacking department. But at 23, Silva would still have plenty opportunities to make his mark on the international stage in future, should he continue his development into a menacing forward.
Add us as a preferred source on Google