Every time Portugal participates in a major tournament, something genuinely extraordinary occurs: thousands of Portuguese gather together in cafes across their nation to cheer them on as one.
Portugal favors short, intricate passes when in possession; however, their defense lacks aerial duel dominance and average ball recovery capabilities.
Origin
Portugal is home to some passionate football fans who take their fandom seriously – many even refusing to speak with those supporting rival teams! Their fandom can almost be described as religious: many go out of their way to keep the one team they believe in by wearing unique clothing or watching every week’s match from a designated cafe!
In 1914, the Portuguese Football Federation was initially known as “Portuguese Football Union” and later changed to its current moniker. Its primary purpose at the time of formation was to organize national tournaments since regional championships were the only available competition.
Portugal managed to clinch second place in their Euro qualification group despite an erratic start, winning three out of their four matches and suffering only a defeat against the United States at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth. After this disappointing result, Coach Luis Scolari and his squad agreed to extend their contracts with FIFA.
Portugal met France, the defending champions from the previous tournament, in the semi-finals and were led by two players who had been sent off during quarter-final play: Pepe and Ricardo Carvalho. Although a close contest, France scored their only goal during the extra-time period after an incidental headbutt from Pepe against Thomas Muller was penalized with red cards and automatic dismissals.
Portugal became only the fourth team in FIFA World Cup finals history after beating Nigeria and Ivory Coast 3-0 to qualify. Portugal was drawn in what many considered a problematic group, including five-time champion Brazil, Africa’s premier contender Ivory Coast, and North Korea from 1966. Scolari chose an inexperienced squad but achieved mixed results: two wins, a draw, and a defeat were recorded.
Portugal began their campaign with an emphatic win against Turkey thanks to goals scored by Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo. This victory proved key in qualifying them for the knockout stage. Unfortunately, their second match against the USA at Moses Mabhida Stadium Cape Town proved more challenging as Jermaine Jones and Hakan Yakin scored against them 2-0 for an inevitable loss for Portugal.
Rules
Portugal’s national soccer team has experienced many trials during its long history. Every time they travel overseas to play, thousands of Portuguese travel abroad to watch them play; others lend support in spirit.
Portuguese teams first took steps towards qualifying for the World Cup by competing in the 1928 tournament, where they lost in the quarter-finals to Egypt. Later, they would join the 1950 and 1958 qualifiers without much luck, losing 9-0 against Spain while their participation was interrupted by World War II.
Once qualifying is completed, each team will compete in a round-robin tournament to determine who advances to the final. Once there, they will meet again to play one game to decide the victor. In case of a tie vote between teams that won multiple matches, whichever team won more games would be declared the victor.
At tournament play, there are specific rules that must be abided by. For instance, talking between hands during play would constitute cheating and is banned during tournament play. Furthermore, the exchange of signals must not occur between hands; all rules and regulations of Liga Portugal must also be approved before play begins.
At first, players must engage in some rounds of poker before moving onto a board game, where they can perform various actions and earn points – this is when the real fun begins, and players gain insight into their strategy.
The cards are valued based on rank: Ace is worth 11 points, Seven 10 points, Jack 4, and Queen 2 (this refers to Portuguese decks from yesteryear where Jack represented a Knight and Queen represented a maid). The first team to capture all 120 points in any hand wins as partida (“partida means partita in Spanish).
Players cannot re-deal a card after another player has already played it; anyone caught doing so will be penalized with losing two games.
Variations
The game provides players with rules for scoring and gaining influence, requiring them to form teams that can meet their goals as quickly as possible while competing with other teams to gain the most power and ultimately win the game. This game serves as an excellent introduction to history and culture for students of all ages; it is ideal for elementary school classrooms where it can teach a wide array of subjects like geography, economics, history, literature, etc.
Portuguese Poquera is the Ace-Ten family’s four-player partnership point trick-taking card game. It is widely played throughout Portugal, Brazil, Angola, and other Portuguese-speaking regions and is popular among youth. Each Ace scores 11 points; sevens value 10, King 4 or 4, Jack 3 or 3, Queens 2, with all picture cards such as Knight, Horseman, or Maid counting as two points each; the first team to reach 30 wins the hand or 120 scores a set (known in Portuguese as partida).
Portugal’s next move can be challenging to predict because of its vast array of options. Their left-hand side, including Jota, Leao, and Nunes, is generally solid and capable of playing short, intricate passes; however, if they choose to press instead, they could leave space on either flank for teams to exploit.
Centerbacks are also impressive and can make fast breaks. Yet, their indecision when faced with dangerous attacking players on the left flank can sometimes prove problematic – an area other teams could potentially exploit, which may soon be remedied with Danilo and Raphael Guerreiro joining their squad.
Portugal stands out among most European nations because of their extraordinary love of football. Some of their supporters are among the world’s finest, taking extreme measures to support their team – some even wear unique t-shirts or shoes to watch big matches!
Scoring
Portuguese football fans take great joy in supporting one team over the other. Families may pick sides based on which parent supports which team, while entire cities often rally behind a specific club or two. Sometimes arguments arise, or violence can ensue over this choice, but most respect each other’s decisions and take part without incident.
Portugal’s football federation was established in 1914, and its inaugural tournament occurred in 1921. Although Portugal initially struggled to qualify for World Cup tournaments during the 20th century, things changed significantly with the arrival of “the golden generation.” Portugal established itself as an economic powerhouse during this decade and eventually made it to the World Cup final in 2006.
At Euro 2016, Portugal was dominant within their group but failed to progress past it, winning only two out of four matches and coming away with just two victories overall. Ronaldo, Portugal’s most-capped player and star striker, has enjoyed a fantastic 106-goal scoring spree for their national side since starting as a winger!
He was instrumental in their win against Sweden in the round of 16. However, in their match against Croatia, he failed to score and was replaced at halftime by Goncalo Ramos.
Joao Moutinho has long gone unnoticed due to his underrated talent, yet he is an extraordinary playmaker and visionary who has played an essential part in Portugal’s success. Additionally, his visionary passes have made an incredible contribution. Furthermore, his outstanding shooting technique ranks him among the best players worldwide at creating chances.
Mohammed Kudus is Ghana’s midfield heartbeat, constantly searching for opportunities to break through. Inaki received Kudus’s pass in the 68th minute but failed to connect fully. Ghana continued pressing hard to find an equalizer but couldn’t find one; Portugal had plenty of chances during a long game.
