Portugal EURO 2020 Preview - History and Expectations

Published on 29 Feb 2020 | Last updated on 04 Jul 2026 | Reading time: 4 minutes

The current European champion Portugal will have a very difficult task defending their Euro 2020 title. The Navigators are in the "death group" where they will face Germany, France, and Hungary. Group F matches will be played in Budapest and Munich, with Portugal not hosting the championship. Check out our preview of Portugal at the 2020 European Championships and what we can expect from Fernando Santos's selection.

Portugal European Championships - History and successes

Portugal achieved its biggest success at the Euro Finals in 2016 when it won the title in France. Fernando Santos's team won the final against the hosts 1:0, thanks to Eder's 109th-minute goal. Previously, Portugal eliminated the teams of Wales, Poland, and Croatia. Cristiano Ronaldo and company brought the first European title to the country, with the team having only one final - previously, from their household in 2004, when it lost surprisingly to Greece. In 2012, Portugal reached the 1/2 finals of the tournament, with a total of 5 times in this phase of the competition.

The Road to Euro 2020

Portugal finished second in qualifying group "B", winning a direct visa for Euro 2020. The Navigators collected 17 points in 8 games, finishing with 3 points more than third Serbia and three points behind the winner in the group Ukraine. It cannot be said that it was an easy qualifying campaign for Fernando Santos's selection. Portugal recorded 5 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss, scoring 22 goals and receiving 6. The team was firmly against the weaker teams in the Luxembourg and Lithuania groups but had a lot of problems in the matches with Serbia and Ukraine. The important thing is that the team won the battle with the Serbs for second place and will defend their title at the European Football Championship 2020.

Euro 2020 fixtures

Portugal is in Group F of Euro 2020 with the teams of Germany, France, and Hungary.

• June 15, 6:00 pm: Hungary - Portugal / Puskás Aréna, Budapest /
• June 19, 6:00 pm: Portugal - Germany / Allianz Arena, Munich /
• June 23, 9:00 pm: Portugal - France / Puskás Aréna, Budapest /

Portugal squad for the European Football Championship 2020

Portugal has a lot of good players in the squad, with most of them playing in the leading European Championships. Of course, the biggest name in the team selection is Cristiano Ronaldo. The team is also impressed by the players of English Man City and Wolverhampton - Bernardo Silva, Joao Moutinho, and Diogo Jota. Experienced goalkeeper Rui Patricio is the number one choice under the bar, with Portugal defending classmates such as Jose Fonte, Rafael Guerrero, João Canzelo, and Ricardo Pereira. The young talents of Joao Felix and Ruben Neves are expected to be an important part of the Euro 2020 squad. 

Goalkeepers: Anthony Lopes (Lyon), Jose Sa (Olympiacos), Rui Silva (Granada)
Defenders: Jose Fonte (Lille), Ruben Dias (Manchester City), Joao Cancelo (Manchester City), Nélson Semedo (Wolves), Pepe (Porto), Nuno Mendes (Sporting CP), Raphael Guerreiro (Dortmund)
Midfielders: Joao Moutinho (Wolves), Danilo Pereira (Paris Saint-Germain), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Renato Sanches (Lille), Ruben Neves (Wolves), Sergio Oliveira (Porto), Joao Palhinha (Sporting Lisbon), William Carvalho (Real Betis)
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Andre Silva (Eintracht Frankfurt), Pedro Gonçalves (Sporting CP), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Gonçalo Guedes (Valencia), Rafa Silva (Benfica), Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid), Diogo Jota (Liverpool)

Source: www.robbreport.com

The Big Star: Cristiano Ronaldo

There is no doubt who is the best player in Portugal - this is Juventus striker Cristiano Ronaldo. He was selected as the best Serie A player for 2019. Ronaldo has 99 goals in 164 appearances for the national team, a statistic from the end of 2019. Cristiano will aim to lead his country to a second consecutive European Championship title, but he will also need the support of his teammates. Ronaldo is the player with the most matches in the World Cups - 17. He has participated in the World Cups in 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018. Cristiano is the player with the highest number of European finals in Portugal - 9.

Expectations for Portugal at Euro 2020

Portugal is in a very hard group for Euro 2020 but should get enough points to continue to the direct eliminations. In the 1/8-finals, the team may have a tough opponent. It is hard to believe that Portugal will win the European finals again. In our view, Portugal may reach the semi-finals phase, but new participation in the finals and a triumph for the "navigators" will be hard.

Odds for Portugal

As we already mentioned a couple of times, Portugal is in a really hard group. This is our personal view, but maybe the bookmakers are thinking the same way. They are giving a very low probability to win the group and go through the 1/8 finals. Portugal is also out of the top 5 favorites for winning the European title in 2020. Here are the current odds for the "Navigators":

To win Euro 2020	9.00
To win Group F	4.50