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The Portugal national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Portugal and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). They are nicknamed "Esperanças." Esperança means hope, thus they are Portugal's hopes for the future.
Nickname(s) | Esperanças (Hopes) | ||
---|---|---|---|
Association | Federação Portuguesa de Futebol | ||
Head coach | Rui Jorge | ||
Captain | Henrique Araújo | ||
Most caps | Manuel Fernandes (30) | ||
Top scorer | Hugo Almeida (16) | ||
| |||
First international | |||
![]() ![]() (Lisbon, Portugal; 16 November 1958) | |||
Biggest win | |||
![]() ![]() (Vizela, Portugal; 7 October 2021) | |||
Biggest defeat | |||
![]() ![]() Piacenza, Italy; 2 December 1987
Records for competitive
matches only. | |||
UEFA U-21 Championship | |||
Appearances | 10 (first in 1994) | ||
Best result | Runners-up (1994, 2015, 2021) |
Following the realignment of UEFA's youth competitions in 1976, the Portuguese under-21 team was formed. Until 1994, the team had a rather poor record, failing to qualify for each of the first eight UEFA under-21 Championships. Since 1994, the team has improved its record greatly, qualifying for five of the next seven tournaments, including the 2006 finals.
Having qualified for the 2006 tournament finals, UEFA announced that Portugal would host the finals in May and June. From 2007 onwards, host nations will be announced before the qualification stage and will not need to qualify.
Year | Round | Position | Games | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | GA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1978 | did not qualify | |||||||
1980 | ||||||||
1982 | did not enter | |||||||
1984 | did not qualify | |||||||
1986 | ||||||||
1988 | ||||||||
1990 | ||||||||
1992 | ||||||||
1994 | Runners-up | 2nd | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 |
1996 | Quarter-finals | 7th | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
1998 | did not qualify | |||||||
2000 | ||||||||
2002 | Group stage | 5th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
2004 | Third place | 3rd | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 11 |
2006 | Group stage | 6th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
2007 | Group stage | 6th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
2009 | did not qualify | |||||||
2011 | ||||||||
2013 | ||||||||
2015 | Runners-up | 2nd | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
2017 | Group stage | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | |
2019 | did not qualify | |||||||
2021 | Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 4 |
2023 | Quarter-finals | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
Total | Runners-up | 10/24 | 39 | 19 | 8 | 12 | 56 | 39 |
Rank | Player | Club(s) | Year(s) | U-21 Caps |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Manuel Fernandes | Benfica, Portsmouth, Everton, Valencia | 2004–2008 | 30 |
2 | João Pereira | Benfica, Gil Vicente, Braga | 2004–2008 | 28 |
Ricardo Quaresma | Sporting CP, Barcelona, Porto | 2002–2006 | ||
Silvestre Varela | Sporting CP, Casa Pia, Vitória Setúbal | 2004–2007 | ||
5 | Fernando Brassard | Marítimo, Gil Vicente, Vitória Guimarães | 1991–1994 | 27 |
Hugo Almeida | Porto, União Leiria, Boavista, Werder Bremen | 2002–2007 | ||
7 | Ednilson | Roma, Benfica | 2000–2003 | 26 |
Raul Meireles | Aves, Boavista, Porto | 2003–2006 | ||
9 | Cândido Costa | Porto, Vitória Setúbal, Derby County | 2000–2004 | 25 |
Fábio Vieira | Porto, Arsenal | 2019–2023 |
Note: Club(s) represents the clubs during the player's time in the Under-21s.
Rank | Player | Club(s) | Year(s) | U-21 Goals |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Hugo Almeida | Porto, União Leiria, Boavista, Werder Bremen | 2002–2007 | 16 |
2 | Fábio Vieira | Porto, Arsenal | 2019–2023 | 14 |
Gonçalo Ramos | Benfica | 2020–2022 | ||
4 | Fábio Silva | Porto, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Anderlecht, PSV Eindhoven, Rangers | 2021– | 12 |
Hélder Postiga | Porto, Tottenham | 2001–2003 | ||
Toni | Porto, Braga | 1992–1994 | ||
7 | Henrique Araújo | Benfica, Watford, Famalicão | 2021– | 9 |
8 | Diogo Gonçalves | Benfica, Nottingham Forest | 2017–2018 | 8 |
Diogo Jota | Paços Ferreira, Atlético Madrid, Porto, Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2015–2018 | ||
Paulo Costa | Alverca, Inter Milan, Reggina, Porto | 2000–2002 | ||
Rui Fonte | Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Sporting CP, Vitória Setúbal, Espanyol | 2008–2012 | ||
Simão Sabrosa | Sporting CP, Barcelona | 1998–2001 |
Note: Club(s) represents the clubs during the player's time in the Under-21s.
Players born on or after 1 January 2002 are eligible for the 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.
The following 23 players were called up for the UEFA Under-21 Euro 2025 qualifying matches against Faroe Islands and Croatia on 21 and 26 March 2024, respectively.[3]
Caps and goals correct as of: 26 March 2024, after the match against Croatia
No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1GK | Samuel Soares | (2002-06-15) 15 June 2002 (age 22) | 11 | 0 | Benfica |
12 | 1GK | João Carvalho | (2004-04-09) 9 April 2004 (age 20) | 1 | 0 | Braga |
22 | 1GK | Diogo Pinto | (2004-06-18) 18 June 2004 (age 20) | 0 | 0 | Sporting CP |
2 | 2DF | Tomás Esteves | (2002-04-03) 3 April 2002 (age 22) | 5 | 0 | Pisa |
3 | 2DF | Renato Veiga | (2003-07-29) 29 July 2003 (age 20) | 7 | 1 | Chelsea |
4 | 2DF | Tomás Araújo | (2002-05-16) 16 May 2002 (age 22) | 10 | 0 | Benfica |
5 | 2DF | Rafael Rodrigues | (2002-01-27) 27 January 2002 (age 22) | 8 | 0 | Benfica |
13 | 2DF | Leonardo Buta | (2002-06-05) 5 June 2002 (age 22) | 3 | 0 | Gil Vicente |
14 | 2DF | Eduardo Quaresma | (2002-03-02) 2 March 2002 (age 22) | 10 | 0 | Sporting CP |
16 | 2DF | Tiago Santos | (2002-07-23) 23 July 2002 (age 22) | 4 | 0 | Lille |
6 | 3MF | Mateus Fernandes | (2004-07-10) 10 July 2004 (age 20) | 7 | 2 | Estoril |
7 | 3MF | Vasco Sousa | (2003-04-03) 3 April 2003 (age 21) | 11 | 0 | Porto |
8 | 3MF | Paulo Bernardo (3rd captain) | (2002-01-24) 24 January 2002 (age 22) | 23 | 7 | Celtic |
15 | 3MF | Bernardo Folha | (2002-03-23) 23 March 2002 (age 22) | 2 | 0 | Porto |
18 | 3MF | João Marques | (2002-02-13) 13 February 2002 (age 22) | 5 | 1 | Estoril |
20 | 3MF | Gustavo Sá | (2004-11-11) 11 November 2004 (age 19) | 1 | 0 | Famalicão |
21 | 3MF | Martim Neto | (2003-01-14) 14 January 2003 (age 21) | 2 | 0 | Gil Vicente |
9 | 4FW | Fábio Silva | (2002-07-19) 19 July 2002 (age 22) | 22 | 12 | Rangers |
10 | 4FW | Pedro Santos | (2003-02-10) 10 February 2003 (age 21) | 5 | 3 | Benfica |
11 | 4FW | Tiago Tomás | (2002-06-16) 16 June 2002 (age 22) | 14 | 2 | VfL Wolfsburg |
17 | 4FW | Carlos Forbs | (2004-03-19) 19 March 2004 (age 20) | 4 | 1 | Ajax |
19 | 4FW | Youssef Chermiti | (2004-05-24) 24 May 2004 (age 20) | 2 | 1 | Everton |
23 | 4FW | Rodrigo Gomes | (2003-07-07) 7 July 2003 (age 21) | 6 | 3 | Estoril |
The following players have previously been called up to the under-21 squad and remain eligible for selection.
Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club | Latest call-up |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GK | Francisco Lemos | (2002-09-13) 13 September 2002 (age 21) | 0 | 0 | Atlético CP | v. Greece, 20 November 2023 |
GK | Gonçalo Ribeiro | (2006-01-15) 15 January 2006 (age 18) | 0 | 0 | Porto | v. Belarus, 12 September 2023 |
DF | Gabriel Brás | (2004-03-25) 25 March 2004 (age 20) | 0 | 0 | Porto | v. Greece, 20 November 2023 |
DF | Rafael Fernandes | (2002-06-28) 28 June 2002 (age 22) | 0 | 0 | Lille | v. Greece, 20 November 2023 INJ |
DF | André Amaro | (2002-08-13) 13 August 2002 (age 21) | 4 | 0 | Al-Rayyan | v. Andorra, 8 September 2023 INJ |
MF | Dário Essugo | (2005-03-14) 14 March 2005 (age 19) | 3 | 0 | Chaves | v. Greece, 17 October 2023 |
MF | Hugo Félix | (2004-03-03) 3 March 2004 (age 20) | 1 | 0 | Benfica | v. Greece, 17 October 2023 |
MF | João Neves | (2004-09-27) 27 September 2004 (age 19) | 6 | 1 | Benfica | v. Belarus, 12 September 2023 |
FW | Henrique Araújo (Captain) | (2002-01-19) 19 January 2002 (age 22) | 22 | 9 | Famalicão | v. Greece, 20 November 2023 |
FW | Francisco Conceição (Vice-captain) | (2002-12-14) 14 December 2002 (age 21) | 23 | 6 | Porto | v. Greece, 20 November 2023 |
FW | Tiago Morais | (2003-09-03) 3 September 2003 (age 20) | 3 | 0 | Boavista | v. Greece, 20 November 2023 |
FW | Diego Moreira | (2004-08-06) 6 August 2004 (age 19) | 4 | 0 | Chelsea | v. Belarus, 12 September 2023 |
INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
|
Manager | Period | Record | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % | ||
José Alberto Costa | –1993 | 12 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 22 | 10 | +12 | 066.67 |
Nelo Vingada | 1994–1996 | 22 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 33 | 14 | +19 | 063.64 |
Jesualdo Ferreira | 1996–2000 | 33 | 19 | 5 | 9 | 64 | 36 | +28 | 057.58 |
Agostinho Oliveira | 2000–2002 | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 39 | 21 | +18 | 050.00 |
Rui Caçador | 2002 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 066.67 |
José Romão | 2002–2004 | 18 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 44 | 27 | +17 | 066.67 |
Rui Caçador | 2004 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | 000.00 |
Agostinho Oliveira | 2004–2006 | 18 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 36 | 9 | +27 | 077.78 |
José Couceiro | 2006–2007 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 22 | 9 | +13 | 053.85 |
Rui Caçador | 2007–2009 | 27 | 15 | 4 | 8 | 54 | 22 | +32 | 055.56 |
Oceano Cruz | 2009–2010 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 17 | 12 | +5 | 050.00 |
Rui Jorge | 2010–present | 69 | 47 | 14 | 8 | 154 | 54 | +100 | 068.12 |
Source: [5]