Braga were too good for Maccabi Petah Tikva in the Europa League, winning 2-0 in the second qualifying round first leg at the Quarry.The Israeli club dodged a bullet in the 3rd minute when Muhammad Handy was shown a straight red card, the defender breathing a big sigh of relief when the VAR ruled Am
Can Vitória break Portugal’s UEFA Conference League curse? Since the inception of the competition no Portuguese team has made it to the group stage of Europe’s third-tier club tournament.Rui Borges’ men have made a positive start by winning the first leg of their 2nd qualifying round tie against Flo
A familiar feeling for Campeonato Brasileiro leaders Botafogo, who lead the Brazilian league at the midway point of the 2024 season. The Rio de Janeiro side occupied the same position this time last year, before a late collapse extended their long wait to be champions again.Another similarity to las
João Neves nears exitIt seems increasingly likely star midfielder João Neves will leave Benfica this close season to join Paris Saint-Germain, becoming the latest product from the prestigious Seixal academy to earn the Lisbon club a pot of money. A transfer fee of around €75 million has been mooted.
José Mourinho’s first official match in charge of Fenerbahçe was an eventful one, with the Turkish side coming from behind to beat Lugano 4-3 in Switzerland to take control of their Champions League qualifier tie.Mourinho’s side went behind to an early Lugano goal but recovered to take a strong lead
The Portuguese National Team is still licking its wounds from its disappointing showing at the 2024 Euros. The tournament represented perhaps the last chance for Cristiano Ronaldo to lead his country to another trophy. Before the tournament, Portugal was certainly considered among the favourites. Fa
Transfer market round-up among Portugal’s big fourThe summer transfer window has been a quiet one for Portugal’s three title contenders thus far, with the departure of stalwart captains Sebastián Coates and Pepe at Sporting and Porto respectively the biggest news.Braga have been one of the most acti
Former Sporting prospect Renato Veiga completed his transfer to English side Chelsea over the weekend, signing an astonishing 7-year contract at Stamford Bridge with the option of a further year.At just 20, the London club are betting long term on Veiga’s potential. With football already in his fami
Former Sporting forward Paulinho made a sensational impact on his full debut for Mexican side Toluca at the weekend, scoring twice in a 3-2 victory over Juarez.Paulinho has been training with his new club for two weeks, having joined from the Lions in an €8m move in June. After a 30-minute cameo at
João Palhinha has finally competed his long-awaited transfer from Fulham to Bundesliga heavyweights Bayern Munich, signing a four-year deal in Germany.Palhinha had been set to move to Bayern at the end of last summer’s transfer window, but the deal collapsed at the last minute. Now the Portugal midf
It would be true to say that defensive midfielders don’t always get the credit they deserve.Their output isn’t quantified in goals, assists etc, which are the simple measuring blocks that make it easy for fair-weather fans to understand which players are performing at an elite level.But soccer’s sta
It was fun while it lasted. Portugal are out of Euro 2024 after losing to France on penalties in the quarter-final.The inquest is in full swing. The need to find a scapegoat, click-worthy headlines and bombastic conclusions is more evident with each passing day in our social-media driven world.Havin
Portugal’s European Championship dream ended against Les Bleus in Hamburg last night. Roberto Martinez, perhaps wisely at this juncture, opted for stability rather than ingenuity with the same XI taking the pitch as did Slovenia.But despite inspired performances from Vitinha, Nuno Mendes, and Pepe,
As one of the many who has watched Cristiano Ronaldo’s career in its entirety. As someone who stood in Old Trafford and saw him star for Manchester United as a teenager. This European Championships played out in line with my worst fears regarding Portugal’s greatest ever player.The Seleção were righ
In a LIVE Episode 93 of The Seleção podcast, host Danny Pinto is once again joined by Nathan Motz and Eric “The Portuguese Hammer” Vieira following Portugal’s heartbreaking loss to France in penalties at the quarterfinals of Euro 2024.Among the topics discussed were Roberto Martínez, Cristiano Ronal
Portugal’s 2024 UEFA European Championship ended in the quarter-finals after a penalty shootout defeat against France.Clear cut chances were hard to come by in Hamburg before the tempo increased in the second half. Rúben Dias did well to divert Randal Kolo Muani's shot wide in the 66th minute.Eduard
Portugal boss Roberto Martínez has admitted that “suffering is part of football” as he prepares for tonight’s Euro 2024 quarter-final versus France, having seen the Seleção squeeze past Slovenia on penalties.Martínez and his men faced the habitual scrutiny as his side failed to score against Sloveni
In episode 92, host Danny Pinto is joined by Matthew Marshall of PortuGOAL.net, who has been in Germany covering Euro 2024.Danny and Matthew discuss, among other things:- Diogo Costa’s heroics in the R16 match versus Slovenia- The growing importance of Vitinha in the starting XI- Roberto Martínez’s
Hamburg 2024. Will it be added to the annuls of Portuguese football history and spoken about in the same exalted tones as a series of great matches of the past? A repeat of the Euro 1984 semi-final and the seesaw 3-2 victory for the French will keep the neutrals happy. The epic battle in Marseille i
48 hours on from Portugal’s dramatic penalty shootout victory over Slovenia, we are yet to truly understand how celebrated a page the drama of Frankfurt will be in Seleção history books.Should Portuguese flags be draped around the Euros trophy and it be hoisted into the Berlin night by Cristiano Ron
Diogo Costa is the toast of Portugal today, the Porto goalkeeper saving three penalties in the shootout against Slovenia to send the Seleção into the quarter-finals.Costa also provided the quote of the night when asked about Ronaldo’s missed penalty in extra time saying: “We all fail. What’s importa
In LIVE Episode 91 of the Seleção podcast, host Danny Pinto was joined by regular guests – the Erics, Eric “The Portuguese Hammer” Vieira and Eric Krakauer. The guys discussed Portugal’s emotionally exhausting round-of-16 victory on penalties versus Slovenia at Euro 2024.The show focuses on Diogo Co
As far as goalless draws are concerned, Portugal’s last-16 knockout showdown with Slovenia was an exhilarating show for the neutral. For Portuguese followers, it was an evening that descended into dread and terror as Slovenia came dangerously close to upstaging the Seleção.Ultimately Portugal were t
Portugal kept their 2024 European Championship hopes alive after a penalty shootout victory over Slovenia in the Round of 16.The Seleção were the superior side in Frankfurt but struggled to make it count, Cristiano Ronaldo going close with a free kick and João Palhinha hitting the post on the stroke
