This page is a list of all the matches that Portugal national football team has played between 1921 and 1939. Between their first match in 1921 and 1939, when competitive football stopped because of the Second World War, Portugal played in 42 matches, resulting in 13 victories, 7 draws, 22 defeats. Throughout this period they played in the 1928 Olympics, reaching the quarter-finals where they got knocked out by Egypt.
^ abIn May 1927, Spain played a friendly against Portugal in Madrid[2][3][4] on the same day as they played Italy in Rome.[5][6][7][8] The squad for the Italy game was more experienced and considered to be stronger, while several players in the Portugal match made their debuts; consequently the Spain team is considered to have been equivalent to its B team[9] (although they won their match while the A team lost theirs)[8] and thus not a full international, although the match is included in some media articles relating to the rivalry and in some statistical tallies of caps for the players involved.[10][11][12][13]
^ abcdFollowing the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, no official matches were played by Spain until 1941.[16] The vast majority of the squad in 1936[17] either originated from the Basque provinces, or played for FC Barcelona in Catalonia, both of which were initially within Republican territory in the conflict. The Basque players formed their own quasi-national team and left Spain to play a long series of exhibition matches on tour around Eastern Europe[18] and Latin America[19] to provide funds and exposure for local causes, and Barcelona did likewise;[20] most of the players in both groups never returned.[16] Back in Spain, as the Nationalist side took control of more of the country, General Franco saw the opportunity to use football as a positive propaganda tool, and arranged for a match to be played in his home region of Galicia against Portugal, whose leader Salazar was supportive of the Franco regime.[16][21][22][23] Recognition was granted by FIFA at short notice and the match took place in Vigo in November 1937. In contrast to Portugal's settled squad, the Spain pool was hastily assembled from the best available players in Nationalist areas, and Portugal won for their first victory over their neighbours.[21][22][24][25] A return match was arranged for the following January in Lisbon, also won by Portugal,[16][26][23] and which attracted attention when three local players refused to give the fascist salute before kick-off; they were initially imprisoned, but were soon released due to the political influence held by the hierarchy of the club they played for, Belenenses.[21][22]
^ ab"El fútbol en las dos Españas" [Football in the two Spains]. Curiosidades del fútbol (Curiosities of football) (in Spanish). 7 November 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
