Portugal national under-20 football team
National association football team
The Portugal national under-20 football team is the national under-20 football team of Portugal and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation , the governing body for football in Portugal .
The U20 team acts mainly as a feeder team for the under-21s and provides further international development for youth players. The team qualified for its only official match, FIFA U-20 World Cup, depends on U19 results.
The Portuguese team has 12 participations in the FIFA U-20 World Cup and 12 in the Toulon Tournament .
History
The Golden Generation (1989–1991)
The Golden Generation was the Generation of the players that won consecutive FIFA Youth Championships in 1989 and 1991 .
The Silver Generation (2011)
The Courage Generation was the Generation of players that was runner up in the 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup .
Competitive record
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Year
Round
Position
Games
Won
Drawn
Lost
1977
did not enter
1979
Quarter-finals
7th
4
1
1
2
2
4
–2
1981
did not qualify
1983
1985
1987
1989
Champions
1st
6
5
0
1
6
3
+3
1991
Champions
1st
6
5
1
0
9
1
+8
1993
Group stage
16th
3
0
0
3
1
5
–4
1995
Third place
3rd
6
5
0
1
12
6
+6
1997
did not qualify
1999
Round of 16
13th
4
1
2
1
5
4
+1
2001
did not qualify
2003
2005
2007
Round of 16
15th
4
1
0
3
4
5
–1
2009
did not qualify
2011
Runners-up
2nd
7
4
2
1
7
3
+4
2013
Round of 16
11th
4
2
1
1
12
7
+5
2015
Quarter-finals
6th
5
4
1
0
12
2
+10
2017
Quarter-finals
7th
5
2
2
1
9
7
+2
2019
Group stage
17th
3
1
1
1
2
3
–1
2021
Initially qualified, tournament later cancelled
2023
did not qualify
2025
To be determined
Total
2 Titles
12/24
57
31
11
15
81
50
+31
*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.
Toulon Tournament
Year
Round
Position
Games
Won
Drawn
Lost
1996
Third place
3rd
4
3
1
0
12
3
+9
1997
Runners-up
2nd
5
2
2
1
7
4
+3
1998
Third place
3rd
5
3
1
1
4
1
+3
1999
Group stage
7th
3
0
1
2
1
5
–4
2000
Runners-up
2nd
5
1
4
0
7
4
+3
2001
Champions
1st
5
5
0
0
12
5
+7
2002
Group stage
7th
4
0
3
1
1
2
–1
2003
Champions
1st
5
4
0
1
11
2
+9
2004
Group stage
5th
3
1
1
1
3
3
0
2005
Runners-up
2nd
5
4
0
1
9
5
+4
2006
Third place
3rd
5
2
2
1
3
1
+2
2007
Fourth place
4th
5
1
3
1
2
2
0
2011
Group stage
5th
3
1
2
0
3
2
+1
2013
Fourth place
4th
5
2
1
2
8
8
+0
2014
Third place
3rd
5
4
0
1
11
4
+7
2016
Third place
3rd
5
3
1
1
7
2
+5
Total
2 Titles
2/16
72
36
22
14
101
53
+48
* Portugal also participated in the 1975, 1976, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1993, and 2009 tournaments but with the u-21 squad instead of the u-20 squad.
Honours
Team
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Toulon Tournament
Winner (3) : 1992, 2001, 2003
Runner-up (4): 1994, 1997, 2000, 2005
Third place (4): 1998, 2006, 2014, 2016
Torneio Internacional da Madeira
Winner (7) : 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008
Runner-up (4): 1998, 2001, 2004, 2006
Torneio Campos Verdes
Copa El Presidente de La Republica - Ricardo Martinelli
SBS Cup International Youth Soccer
Elite League U20
Individual awards
Players
Current squad
Recent call-ups
The following players have previously been called up to the Portugal under-20 squad in the last twelve months and remain eligible for selection.
Previous squads
FIFA U-20 World Cup
Toulon Tournament
Most appearances
#
Name
Caps
Goals
First cap
Latest cap
1
Tiago Ferreira
28
2
July 13, 2011
July 3, 2013
2
Paulo Costa
20
5
September 10, 1998
June 3, 2000
Sérgio Oliveira
20
3
October 7, 2010
April 18, 2012
4
Ricardo Esteves
19
0
September 10, 1998
June 3, 2000
Danilo Pereira
19
3
October 7, 2010
August 21, 2011
Pelé
19
3
October 7, 2010
August 21, 2011
Nuno Reis
19
0
October 7, 2010
August 21, 2011
Nélson Oliveira
19
9
October 7, 2010
August 21, 2011
Most goals
#
Name
Goals
Caps
First cap
Latest cap
1
Nuno Gomes
9
13
June 2, 1995
January 21, 1997
Lourenço
9
17
22 February 2001
June 21, 2003
Nélson Oliveira
9
19
October 7, 2010
August 21, 2011
4
André Silva
8
10
October 7, 2010
August 21, 2011
5
Bruma
6
6
March 24, 2013
July 3, 2013
Carlitos
6
11
May 27, 1997
May 19, 1998
Paulo Torres
6
12
December 18, 1990
June 30, 1991
Bruno Gama
6
14
November 21, 2006
July 8, 2007
Dani
6
15
August 26, 1994
June 1, 1996
6
Ricardo Vaz Tê
5
8
February 16, 2005
September 22, 2005
Notable players
Head coaches
As of 2022
References
Reserve and youth football in Portugal
National teams Nationwide competitions Regional competitions Defunct competitions