Portugal national under-21 football team

Portugal Under-21
Nickname	Esperanças (Hopes)
Association	Federação Portuguesa; de Futebol
Head coach	Luis Freire
Captain	Henrique Araújo
Most caps	Manuel Fernandes (30)
Top scorer	Hugo Almeida (16)
First colours	Second colours
First international
	Portugal 3–1 South Africa ; (Lisbon, Portugal; 16 November 1958)
Biggest win
	Portugal 11–0 Liechtenstein ; (Vizela, Portugal; 7 October 2021) ; Gibraltar 0–11 Portugal ; (Gibraltar; 14 October 2025)
Biggest defeat
	Italy 6–0 Portugal ; Piacenza, Italy; 2 December 1987; Records for competitive; matches only.
UEFA U-21 Championship
Appearances	10 (first in 1994)
Best result	Runners-up (1994, 2015, 2021)

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

Year	Round	Position	Games	Won	Drawn	Lost	GF	GA
1978	did not qualify
1980	did not qualify
1982	did not enter
1984	did not qualify
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994	Runners-up	2nd	4	3	0	1	7	2
1996	Quarter-finals	7th	2	1	0	1	1	2
1998	did not qualify
2000	did not qualify
2002	Group stage	5th	3	1	1	1	4	4
2004	Third place	3rd	5	2	1	2	9	11
2006	Group stage	6th	3	1	0	2	1	3
2007	Group stage	6th	4	1	2	1	5	2
2009	did not qualify
2011
2013
2015	Runners-up	2nd	5	2	3	0	7	1
2017	Group stage		3	2	0	1	7	5
2019	did not qualify
2021	Runners-up	2nd	6	5	0	1	12	4
2023	Quarter-finals		4	1	1	2	3	5
Total	Runners-up	10/24	39	19	8	12	56	39

*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 21 June 2025^[1]

Rank	Player	Club(s)	Year(s)	U-21 Caps
1	Henrique Araújo	Benfica, Watford, Famalicão, Arouca	2021–2025	32
Paulo Bernardo	Benfica, Paços Ferreira, Celtic
3	Manuel Fernandes	Benfica, Portsmouth, Everton, Valencia	2004–2008	30
4	Ricardo Quaresma	Sporting CP, Barcelona, Porto	2002–2006	28
Silvestre Varela	Sporting CP, Casa Pia, Vitória Setúbal	2004–2007
João Pereira	Benfica, Gil Vicente, Braga	2004–2008
Fábio Silva	Porto, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Anderlecht, PSV Eindhoven, Rangers, Las Palmas	2021–2025
8	Fernando Brassard	Marítimo, Gil Vicente, Vitória Guimarães	1991–1994	27
Hugo Almeida	Porto, União Leiria, Boavista, Werder Bremen	2002–2007
10	Ednilson	Roma, Benfica	2000–2003	26
Raul Meireles	Aves, Boavista, Porto	2003–2006

Note: Club(s) represents the clubs during the player's time in the Under-21s.

Top goalscorers

As of 21 June 2025^[1]

Rank	Player	Club(s)	Year(s)	U-21 Goals
1	Hugo Almeida	Porto, União Leiria, Boavista, Werder Bremen	2002–2007	16
2	Fábio Silva	Porto, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Anderlecht, PSV Eindhoven, Rangers, Las Palmas	2021–2025	15
3	Gonçalo Ramos	Benfica	2020–2022	14
Fábio Vieira	Porto, Arsenal	2019–2023
5	Henrique Araújo	Benfica, Watford, Famalicão, Arouca	2021–2025	13
6	Toni	Porto, Braga	1992–1994	12
Hélder Postiga	Porto, Tottenham	2001–2003
8	Paulo Bernardo	Benfica, Paços Ferreira, Celtic	2021–2025	11
9	Diogo Gonçalves	Benfica, Nottingham Forest	2017–2018	8
Paulo Costa	Alverca, Inter Milan, Reggina, Porto	2000–2002
Simão Sabrosa	Sporting CP, Barcelona	1998–2001
Diogo Jota	Paços Ferreira, Atlético Madrid, Porto, Wolverhampton Wanderers	2015–2018
Rui Fonte	Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Sporting CP, Vitória Setúbal, Espanyol	2008–2012

Note: Club(s) represents the clubs during the player's time in the Under-21s.

Players

Current squad

Players born on or after 1 January 2004 are eligible for the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.

The following players were called up for the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification Group B match against Czechia on 18 November 2025.^[2]

Caps and goals correct as of 18 November 2025, after the match against Czechia.

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	1GK	André Gomes	(2004-10-20) 20 October 2004 (age 21)	1	0	Alverca
12	1GK	João Carvalho	(2004-04-09) 9 April 2004 (age 21)	10	0	Braga
22	1GK	Gonçalo Ribeiro	(2006-01-15) 15 January 2006 (age 19)	0	0	Porto

2	2DF	Diogo Travassos	(2004-03-31) 31 March 2004 (age 21)	5	2	Moreirense
3	2DF	João Muniz	(2005-06-26) 26 June 2005 (age 20)	9	0	Sporting CP
4	2DF	Tiago Gabriel	(2004-12-26) 26 December 2004 (age 20)	4	0	Lecce
5	2DF	Gonçalo Oliveira	(2006-07-04) 4 July 2006 (age 19)	3	0	Benfica
6	2DF	Gabriel Brás	(2004-03-25) 25 March 2004 (age 21)	4	2	Porto
13	2DF	Francisco Chissumba	(2005-05-29) 29 May 2005 (age 20)	4	0	Braga
17	2DF	Martim Fernandes	(2006-01-18) 18 January 2006 (age 19)	2	0	Porto
19	2DF	Tiago Parente	(2004-01-14) 14 January 2004 (age 21)	4	1	Estoril Praia

8	3MF	Mateus Fernandes (Captain)	(2004-07-10) 10 July 2004 (age 21)	20	4	West Ham United
10	3MF	Rodrigo Mora	(2007-05-05) 5 May 2007 (age 18)	6	4	Porto
14	3MF	Mathias De Amorim	(2004-12-10) 10 December 2004 (age 20)	6	0	Famalicão
15	3MF	João Rêgo	(2005-06-20) 20 June 2005 (age 20)	1	0	Benfica
16	3MF	Diego Rodrigues	(2005-05-24) 24 May 2005 (age 20)	2	0	Braga
20	3MF	Gustavo Sá (Vice-captain)	(2004-11-11) 11 November 2004 (age 21)	14	1	Famalicão
	3MF	João Simões	(2007-01-06) 6 January 2007 (age 18)	2	0	Sporting CP

7	4FW	Geovany Quenda	(2007-04-30) 30 April 2007 (age 18)	12	5	Sporting CP
9	4FW	Youssef Chermiti	(2004-05-24) 24 May 2004 (age 21)	5	2	Rangers
11	4FW	Afonso Moreira	(2005-03-19) 19 March 2005 (age 20)	2	0	Lyon
18	4FW	Gustavo Varela	(2005-01-30) 30 January 2005 (age 20)	5	3	Gil Vicente
21	4FW	Roger Fernandes	(2005-11-21) 21 November 2005 (age 20)	7	1	Al-Ittihad
23	4FW	Fabio Baldé	(2005-07-20) 20 July 2005 (age 20)	2	1	Hamburger SV

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the Portugal squad within the last twelve months.

Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club	Latest call-up
GK	Diogo Fernandes	(2005-02-17) 17 February 2005 (age 20)	0	0	Porto	v. Gibraltar, 14 October 2025
GK	Diogo Pinto	(2004-06-18) 18 June 2004 (age 21)	2	0	Estrela da Amadora	v. Scotland, 9 September 2025
GK	Samuel Soares	(2002-06-15) 15 June 2002 (age 23)	17	0	Benfica	2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

DF	Leonardo Barroso	(2005-06-12) 12 June 2005 (age 20)	1	1	Chicago Fire	v. Scotland, 9 September 2025
DF	José Sampaio	(2005-01-04) 4 January 2005 (age 20)	1	0	Vizela	v. Scotland, 9 September 2025
DF	Rodrigo Pinheiro	(2002-08-28) 28 August 2002 (age 23)	7	1	Famalicão	2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
DF	Chico Lamba	(2003-03-10) 10 March 2003 (age 22)	5	0	Saint-Étienne	2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
DF	Rafael Rodrigues	(2002-01-27) 27 January 2002 (age 23)	13	1	Al Ain	2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
DF	Flávio Nazinho	(2003-07-20) 20 July 2003 (age 22)	8	0	Cercle Brugge	2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
DF	Christian Marques	(2003-01-15) 15 January 2003 (age 22)	4	0	Tondela	2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
DF	Lourenço Henriques	(2004-03-11) 11 March 2004 (age 21)	0	0	Leixões	2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
DF	Rodrigo Gomes	(2003-07-07) 7 July 2003 (age 22)	15	5	Wolverhampton	2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
DF	Jónatas Noro	(2005-07-09) 9 July 2005 (age 20)	1	0	Braga	v. England, 24 March 2025 ^INJ

MF	Rafael Luís	(2005-02-18) 18 February 2005 (age 20)	1	0	Strasbourg	v. Gibraltar, 14 October 2025
MF	João Veloso	(2005-06-26) 26 June 2005 (age 20)	0	0	Benfica	v. Scotland, 9 September 2025
MF	Dário Essugo	(2005-03-14) 14 March 2005 (age 20)	8	0	Chelsea	v. Azerbaijan, 5 September 2025 ^INJ
MF	Diogo Nascimento	(2002-11-02) 2 November 2002 (age 23)	6	0	Olympiacos	2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
MF	João Marques	(2002-02-13) 13 February 2002 (age 23)	13	1	Gil Vicente	2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
MF	Paulo Bernardo	(2002-01-24) 24 January 2002 (age 23)	32	11	Celtic	2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
MF	Pedro Santos	(2003-02-10) 10 February 2003 (age 22)	13	3	Famalicão	2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship

FW	Carlos Forbs	(2004-03-19) 19 March 2004 (age 21)	18	5	Club Brugge	v. Gibraltar, 14 October 2025
FW	Vivaldo Semedo	(2005-01-28) 28 January 2005 (age 20)	2	1	Watford	v. Bulgaria, 10 October 2025 ^INJ
FW	Henrique Araújo	(2002-01-19) 19 January 2002 (age 23)	32	13	Benfica	2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
FW	Tiago Tomás	(2002-06-16) 16 June 2002 (age 23)	24	2	VfB Stuttgart	2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
^SEN Player withdrew from the squad due to a call-up to the senior squad. ^INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury. ^OTH Player withdrew from the squad due to other reasons. ^PRE Preliminary squad.

Head coaches

As of 14 November 2017^[3]

Manager	Period	Record
Manager	Period	G	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
José Alberto Costa	–1993	12	8	1	3	22	10	+12	066.67
Nelo Vingada	1994–1996	22	14	5	3	33	14	+19	063.64
Jesualdo Ferreira	1996–2000	33	19	5	9	64	36	+28	057.58
Agostinho Oliveira	2000–2002	22	11	4	7	39	21	+18	050.00
Rui Caçador	2002	3	2	0	1	5	4	+1	066.67
José Romão	2002–2004	18	12	2	4	44	27	+17	066.67
Rui Caçador	2004	1	0	1	0	0	0	+0	000.00
Agostinho Oliveira	2004–2006	18	14	1	3	36	9	+27	077.78
José Couceiro	2006–2007	13	7	3	3	22	9	+13	053.85
Rui Caçador	2007–2009	27	15	4	8	54	22	+32	055.56
Oceano Cruz	2009–2010	12	6	2	4	17	12	+5	050.00
Rui Jorge	2010–2025	127	90	19	18	352	105	+247	070.87
Luis Freire	2025–Present	0	0	0	0	0	0	+0	!—

Source: ^[3]

Honours

UEFA Under-21 European Championship

Runners-up (3): 1994, 2015, 2021

Third place (1): 2004

Notes

References

^ ^a ^b "Jogadores" [Players]. FPF.pt. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
^ "Convocatória para encontro com a Chéquia" (in Portuguese). Federação Portuguesa de Futebol. 7 November 2025. Retrieved 7 November 2025.
^ ^a ^b "Portugal-Suíca" [Portugal - Switzerland]. FPF.pt. Retrieved 12 December 2017.

External links

Official site (in Portuguese)
UEFA Under-21 website Contains full results archive
The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation Contains full record of U-21/U-23 Championships.

[auto-1] "Jogadores" [Players]. FPF.pt. Retrieved 14 June 2022.

[2] "Convocatória para encontro com a Chéquia" (in Portuguese). Federação Portuguesa de Futebol. 7 November 2025. Retrieved 7 November 2025.

[auto1-3] "Portugal-Suíca" [Portugal - Switzerland]. FPF.pt. Retrieved 12 December 2017.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Reserve and youth football in Portugal
National teams	Portugal B U-23 U-21 U-20 U-19 U-18 U-17 U-16 U-15 U-14 U-13 U-12
Nationwide competitions	Juniores Juvenis Iniciados Infantis
Regional competitions	Juniores Juvenis Iniciados Infantis Sub-13 Infantis Sub-12 Benjamins Escolinhas Traquinas Petizes
Defunct competitions	Liga Intercalar