Our Fantasy FIFA World Cup 2026 team previews continue with a look at Portugal.

Unlike the Euros, the World Cup is not a tournament that has not been kind to Portugal. They have never bettered their third place from way back in 1966. 

They did, however, reach the quarter-finals in 2022, and should have a similar finish or better this time around. The bookies make them fourth favourites to clinch a first victory, behind France, Spain and England.

Below, we examine Portugal’s path to qualification and results since then, plus provide an overview of their squad and potential best players for the official Fantasy FIFA World Cup 2026 game.

SQUAD

THE ROAD TO QUALIFICATION

It was not the most straightforward of qualification campaigns for Portugal, who last autumn drew at home by Hungary before suffering a shock defeat in Ireland. This meant they had to win in Armenia in their final match to book safe passage to the United States.

This they did by battering Armenia 9-1 – and they did so without the suspended Cristiano Ronaldo, who had been sent off in Dublin. 

Portugal put 14 goals past Armenia in total but managed only two other wins, and they came by a single-goal margin. Nothing really to write home about.

The underlying data (from a small sample) backs up Portugal’s goalscoring potential, at least – they are behind only Spain and Croatia with an xG of 2.56 – but their defence needs some work (0.83).

BIGGEST GOAL THREATS IN QUALIFICATION

*note: the xG in the above table is non-penalty

Cristiano Ronaldo ($10.0m) was Portugal’s top scorer in qualifying. The Al-Nassr striker produced five goals in five matches, including one penalty, but you can imagine his irritation at being unable to add to his record international goal haul in the free-for-all against Armenia on the final day.

The former Real Madrid and Manchester United star also led the way by a country mile for shots. His 29 goal attempts more than doubled the total of his nearest team-mate, Joao Felix ($6.5m). He topped the bill for non-penalty expected goals (xG), too, with 3.75.

Bruno Fernandes ($8.5m) came fourth in that category with 1.50, behind Goncalo Ramos ($7.5m, 1.87) and Joao Felix (1.81).

Ronaldo can be expected to lead the line at his fourth World Cup finals, and Bruno will be a nailed-on starter, in Martinez’s 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 – although the Manchester United captain may have to defer penalty duties to CR7.

MOST CREATIVE PLAYERS IN QUALIFYING

Unsurprisingly, Bruno led the way for expected assists (xG assisted) with 1.88.

His total number of key passes (21) was nearly double that of his nearest team-mate, but curiously, FPL’s assist machine drew a blank in terms of actual assists.

Joao Cancelo ($5.3m) came up trumps on that front, with two. The former Man City star was also second for xG assisted with 1.31, just ahead of Joao Neves ($6.5m, 1.09).

SINCE QUALIFICATION

Portugal have played just three times since qualifying.

It’s hard to draw any substantial conclusions from these matches as there was a good deal of rotation and experimentation at play. Only Bruno Fernandes and Samu Costa ($5.6m), the latter of whom is not a guaranteed Round 1 starter, have made all three starting line-ups. Ronaldo missed both March matches with a hamstring injury. 

Indeed, looking at June 6’s XI against Chile, anywhere in the region of 4-7 places will probably change come Round 1. Wednesday’s match against Nigeria will probably be a better steer.

Above: The line-up Roberto Martinez sent out against Chile on June 6, via BBC Sport

That said, Fernandes has already shown what he’s all about, with three attacking returns, six shots, 11 corners taken and 11 chances created in 251 minutes of friendly action in 2026.

WORLD CUP FIXTURES

Portuguese players are going to be popular Fantasy picks from the get-go, with two favourable fixtures to kick their World Cup campaign off.

DR Congo and Uzbekistan only just rank in the top 50 in the FIFA rankings (46th and 50th respectively), and finished second in their respective World Cup qualification groups. The former only just squeaked through via an interconfederation play-off.

It’s potentially abandon ship if you’re on a Round 3 Wildcard. Portugal are, in all likelihood, going to be qualified via that point, so rotation may ensue. Colombia, while no great shakes themselves, will likely be a sterner test, too.

TOP FANTASY PICKS

Bruno Fernandes ($8.5m) is the stand-out selection from the Portuguese ranks.

The beauty of the FIFA World Cup Fantasy game is that it’s not just assists that a playmaker like Bruno can benefit from but also bonus points for key passes:

Bruno not only met the ‘two chances created’ threshold in all five qualification games but all three subsequent friendlies, too!

Add in the possibility of free-kick bonus, and the chance of the odd penalty (if his more senior colleague is feeling benevolent or off the field…), and $8.5m actually feels quite cheap.

On a share of set plays with Bruno in qualifying was Nuno Mendes ($5.8m).

However, the attack-minded left-back wasn’t just reliant on dead-ball duties to threaten attacking returns.

His key pass map (below right) in qualification shows plenty of forays forward, while his shot map (below left) highlights his penalty box prominence:

At club level, Mendes returned an eye-catching six goals and seven assists for PSG last season.

We couldn’t not mention the 41-year-old elephant in the room.

2018 could very feasibly have been his last World Cup, at the age of 33. 2022 was meant to be the final curtain, for sure.

But here he is, the oldest outfielder in the entire tournament, getting ready for his sixth finals, nearly 23 years after his international debut.

Of course, he’s not the whippersnapper of his Madrid-era pomp. The powers have waned slightly, although that still equates to 28 goals in 30 Saudi league games for Al-Nassr in 2025/26.

Is he as nailed as before? We’ll let this stat do the talking: in the 28 competitive matches that he’s been available for under Martinez, he’s started 27 of them.

In only six of those fixtures has his manager subbed him off before the 70-minute mark. And in five of those six games, he’d already scored!

He averaged over two shots on target per game in qualification, too, something that will earn him a nice little bonus in the Americas, regardless of the outcome of the attempt:

Aside from these three, the Portuguese players who could get you Scouting Bonus are probably not nailed. Gonçalo Inácio ($4.6m) is an attractively priced defender, and just 1.2% owned, but there is the possibility that Renato Veiga ($4.3m) gets the nod alongside Ruben Dias ($5.0m).

Bernardo Silva ($7.8m) and Joao Neves ($6.5m) are both under the 5% threshold but, after a season in which Bernardo excelled in a deeper role for Manchester City (and indeed started there against Chile), is it one or the other? Or will Sanchez accommodate Bernardo out wide?

All eyes on Wednesday’s final friendly – not that there’s a huge amount of Fantasy upside with either player.