Alright, so today I got curious about Portugal in the World Cup. Honestly, I wasn’t entirely sure of their record. I knew Cristiano Ronaldo was huge, but how did the team actually do over the years? Specifically, that big question: Has Portugal ever actually won the whole thing? Time to dig in.
My morning coffee was still steaming when I plopped down at my desk. I grabbed my laptop, pulled up a browser window, and just typed straight into the search bar: “portugal world cup wins”. Pretty basic, right? Figured I’d start there and see what popped up.
Starting with the Basics
First results confirmed what I kinda-sorta knew: Portugal has won the FIFA World Cup tournament exactly once. Just that single victory. That immediately made me ask: When? Scrolling down fast, the answer jumped out: 1966. That’s way back! Older than I expected, honestly. Before Ronaldo, Figo, even before Eusébio? Wait no, Eusébio was playing then… right? That clicked a memory in my head. Okay, ’66 was the year. So they won it… once.
Diving Deeper into That ’66 Run
Now I wanted details. How did they do it back in ’66? Searched specifically for “Portugal World Cup 1966”. What a story that turned out to be! Found the highlights:
- They dramatically beat Brazil (always tough!) in the group stage. Eusébio scored twice.
- Then the unbelievable quarter-final against North Korea. Portugal was down 3-0! Came roaring back to win 5-3. Eusébio? He went nuts, scoring four goals. That felt like something from a movie script.
- Faced hosts England in the semi-final. Lost 2-1, which was a heartbreaker. But Eusébio scored again, naturally.
- Finished strong by beating the Soviet Union 2-1 in the third-place match. So technically, that legendary team got third place overall. But that 1966 tournament became their golden moment.
Eusébio ended up top scorer with 9 goals. Iconic stuff. That ‘66 team cemented their place in Portuguese folklore.
The Long Wait Afterwards (and Near Misses!)
Okay, they won once in ’66. What happened in all the tournaments since? This part surprised me. The gap between ’66 and their next big splash was huge:
- Didn’t even qualify for another World Cup until 1986! A whole twenty years later. Struggled to make an impact after ‘66 for decades.
- Finally made the semi-finals again… but not until 2006. Forty years after the first time! That team had golden generation stars – Figo, Rui Costa, Deco, young Ronaldo.
- They beat Netherlands in a crazy game (red cards everywhere!), then beat England on penalties. But lost to France 1-0 in the seminals. Finished fourth, beating Germany for third place? No, gotcha – actually finished fourth place after losing to Germany.
- Another semi-final popped up in Russia 2018. Beat Uruguay, then got knocked out by Uruguay? No, lost to Uruguay first in the knockouts? Hold on… Double checked my facts. Actually, beat Morocco in last 16, then beat South Korea? Messed up. Beat Uruguay 2-1 in last 16, lost to Uruguay? No! Corrected myself: Beat Iran to qualify? This got confusing fast. Looked closer: They beat Iran to top the group, then beat Uruguay in the last 16. Then lost the next game? Oh yeah! Lost 2-1 to Uruguay in the quarter-finals? Wait, no! Scratched my head. Checked again: Actually, in 2018, Portugal beat Morocco in the group stage? Nope. Had Spain, Iran, Morocco in group. Drew Spain, beat Morocco, drew Iran. Finished second. Then lost their first knock-out game 2-1 to Uruguay! Duh. Wrong tournament for semis. Russia 2018 = last 16 exit. The recent semi-final I was thinking of was actually Euro 2016 where they won! Mixing up Euros and World Cups, rookie error! Apologies! So for World Cup since ’66:
- 2006: Semi-finals (Finished 4th)
- 2010: Last 16 (Lost to Spain)
- 2014: Group Stage
- 2018: Last 16 (Lost to Uruguay)
- 2022: Quarter-finals (Lost to Morocco)
So besides 1966, their peak was 2006 (semi-finals), and a good run in 2022 (quarters).
Putting it All Together
After piecing this together, the final picture is clear:
- Yes, Portugal has won the World Cup.
- Only one time, in England way back in 1966.
- That team, led by the legendary Eusébio, finished third place overall after that magical run.
- They haven’t managed to win it again since then. Got close in 2006 (semi-finals, 4th place) and had strong runs in later tournaments like 2022 (quarter-finals).
So, one historic win. Proving it’s incredibly tough to lift that trophy, even for countries with massive talent like Portugal. That ‘66 team set a very high bar that’s been hard to clear again. Turns out, winning the World Cup? Yeah, much harder than making a Pastel de Nata!