Portugal national under-21 football team
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.
Competition records
UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
|
|---|
| Year |
Round |
Position |
Pld |
W |
D * |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
| 1978 to 1980 |
Did Not Qualify |
| 1982 |
Did Not Enter |
| 1984 to 1992 |
Did Not Qualify |
 1994 |
Runners up |
2nd |
4 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
7 |
2 |
+ 5 |
 1996 |
Quarter Finals |
7th |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
- 1 |
| 1998 to 2000 |
Did Not Qualify |
 2002 |
Group Stage |
5th |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
 2004 |
Third Place |
3rd |
5 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
9 |
11 |
-2 |
 2006 |
Group Stage |
6th |
3 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
-2 |
 2007 |
Group Stage |
6th |
4 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
2 |
+3 |
| 2009 to 2013 |
Did Not Qualify |
 2015 |
Qualified |
| Total |
0 Titles |
0/6 |
21 |
9 |
4 |
8 |
27 |
24 |
+3 |
- *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.
Current squad
The following players are the 24 players called up by Rui Jorge for the matches against Denmark on 26 March 2015 and against Czech Republic on 31 March 2015.
- Caps and goals as of 31 March 2015.
Previous squads
- U-21 European Championship squads
- 2007 UEFA Under-21 Football Championship squads – Portugal
- 2006 UEFA Under-21 Football Championship squads – Portugal
- 2004 UEFA Under-21 Football Championship squads – Portugal
- 2002 UEFA Under-21 Football Championship squads – Portugal
- 1996 UEFA Under-21 Football Championship squads – Portugal
- 1994 UEFA Under-21 Football Championship squads – Portugal
|
Head coaches
See also
References
External links
Reserve and youth football in Portugal |
|---|
| | National teams | |
|---|
| | Nationwide competitions | |
|---|
| | Regional competitions |
- Juniores
- Juvenis
- Iniciados
- Infantis Sub-13
- Infantis Sub-12
- Benjamins
- Escolinhas
- Traquinas
- Petizes
|
|---|
|
