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.
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.
Competitive record
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
- *Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
- **Gold background colour indicates that the tournament was won.
- ***Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.
Player records
Top appearances
- As of 9 September 2008[1]
| Rank |
Player |
Club(s) |
Year(s) |
U-21 Caps |
| 1 | Manuel Fernandes | Benfica, Portsmouth, Everton, Valencia | 2004–2008 | 30 |
| 2 | Silvestre Varela | Sporting CP, Casa Pia, Vitória Setúbal | 2004–2007 | 28 |
| | Ricardo Quaresma | Sporting CP, Barcelona, Porto | 2002–2006 | 28 |
| | João Pereira | Benfica, Gil Vicente, Braga | 2004–2008 | 28 |
| | Fernando Brassard | Marítimo, Gil Vicente, Vitória Guimarães | 1991–1994 | 28 |
| 6 | Hugo Almeida | Porto, União Leiria, Boavista, Werder Bremen | 2002–2007 | 27 |
| 7 | Ednilson | Roma, Benfica | 2000–2003 | 26 |
| | Raul Meireles | Aves, Boavista, Porto | 2003–2006 | 26 |
| 9 | Edgar | Alverca, Real Madrid, Málaga | 1997–1999 | 25 |
| | Cândido Costa | Porto, Vitória Setúbal, Derby County | 2000–2004 | 25 |
Note: Club(s) represents the clubs during the player's time in the Under-21s.
Top goalscorers
- As of 30 June 2015[2]
| Rank |
Player |
Club(s) |
Year(s) |
U-21 Goals |
| 1 | Hugo Almeida | Porto, União Leiria, Boavista, Werder Bremen | 2002–2007 | 16 |
| 2 | Hélder Postiga | Porto, Tottenham | 2001–2003 | 12 |
| | Toni | Porto, Braga | 1992–1994 | 12 |
| 4 | Paulo Costa | Alverca, Inter Milan, Reggina, Porto | 2000–2002 | 9 |
| 5 | Simão Sabrosa | Sporting CP, Barcelona | 1998–2001 | 8 |
| | Rui Fonte | Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Sporting CP, Vitória Setúbal, Espanyol | 2008–2012 | 8 |
| 7 | Orlando Sá | Braga, Porto | 2008–2010 | 7 |
| | Miguel Bruno | Feirense, Paços Ferreira, Beira-Mar | 1992–1994 | 7 |
| | Dani | Sporting CP, West Ham United, Ajax | 1995–1996 | 7 |
| | Ivan Cavaleiro | Benfica, Deportivo La Coruña | 2013–2015 | 7 |
Note: Club(s) represents the clubs during the player's time in the Under-21s.
Current squad
The following 23 players have been called up for the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification match against Bosnia.
Caps and goals are correct as of 5 September 2017 after the game against Wales.
Previous squads
- U-21 European Championship squads
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External links
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