Portugal women's national football team

History

The Portuguese women's team historically was one of the weakest in Western Europe since its formation. In recent years however the team has made major strides, qualifying for the newly expanded UEFA Women's Euro 2017, marking the team's first appearance in a major tournament. Despite ultimately finishing last in their group, the team put in a respectable performance, picking up a win in their second match against a Scottish side which had been favored to beat them, and only losing to England by one goal.

After finishing a distant third in their qualifying group for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup behind Italy and Belgium and failing to qualify, the Portuguese team then looked forward to trying to repeat their achievement of four years prior by qualifying for UEFA Women's Euro 2022, which they eventually did under quite unusual circumstances. After a strong group stage campaign in which Portugal won all its games except for the two games against group winner Finland, including beating the heavily favored top seed Scotland both home and away, the team reached the play-off stage where they were drawn against Russia. The team came agonizingly close as they narrowly lost the first game in Portugal 0–1 before managing a goalless draw in the second leg in Russia. As a result Russia originally qualified for the Euro, but due to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine all Russian representative teams were banned from competition by FIFA, thus giving Portugal a reprieve as they took Russia's place in Group C of the Women's Euro. Portugal is placed in group C with Sweden, the Netherlands and Switzerland as opponents. They were eliminated in the first round, finishing last with a point obtained thanks to a draw against Switzerland (2–2 after being 0–2 down and having dominated the game overall), and two defeats against the favorites of the group (a close one 2–3 against the Dutch title holders after having recovered a two-goal handicap for a while, then a much heavier defeat 0–5 against Sweden).

Portugal qualified for their first World Cup at the 2023 edition after beating Cameroon 2–1 at the International playoff Final. They are placed in a particularly strong group E, in the company of the United States (double world champions in title), the Netherlands (winner of the Euro 2017 and vice-world champions), as well as Vietnam. On July 23, 2023, the Portuguese played their first World Cup match against the Netherlands at the end of which they lost (0–1). The following match on July 27, the Portuguese signed their first victory in the World Cup against Vietnam (2–0 victory), notably thanks to Telma Encarnação who became the first Portuguese scorer in the World Cup. In doing so, the Lusitanians preserved their chances of qualifying for the round of 16 leaving them in a must win scenario the Americans, who were provisionally ahead of them by one point, in the last group match. The Seleçao hung against all odds on their opponent, having had opportunities to score the winning goal including a shot hitting the post in the dying moments of the game. Ultimately, they did not succeed in passing the first round drawing 0–0, and finished the World Cup in 3rd place in its group with 4 points in its first participation.

Established in 2022, the first edition of the Women's Nations League will kick off in September 2023. As such, the Portuguese women's team will take part in this new competition in League A and have been placed in a particularly challenging Group 2 alongside France, Austria, and Norway.

On September 22, 2023, the Portuguese team played their first match in this new competition against France, which they lost 2–0. However, the Portuguese team managed to pull off a feat four days later by defeating Norway (3–2), marking their first historic victory in this competition. Subsequently, the Portuguese lost every match and finished last in their group with a record of one win in six matches, resulting in relegation to League B.

Team image

Nicknames

The Portugal women's national football team has been known or nicknamed as "A Selecção das Quinas".

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

;Legend

2025

• Kika
• Russo
• Carole Carole Aleixandri Pina Esther
• Paralluelo
• Bonmatí
• Putellas
• Caldentey
• Esther
• Beever-Jones
• Bronze
• Mead
• Kelly
• Vanhaevermaet
• Wullaert
• Esther
• Vicky
• Alexia
• Martín-Prieto
• Gomes
• Girelli
• Encarnação
• Wullaert
• Cayman
• Lavelle
• Gomes
• Pinto
• Moultrie
• Coffey
• Silva
• Gabi Zanotti
• Ludmila
• Dudinha
• Isabela
• Bia Zaneratto

2026

• Fixtures and Results, FPF.pt

Coaching staff

Current coaching staff

• POR Francisco Neto (2014–present)

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the friendly matches against Netherlands on 28 November 2025 and Brazil on 2 December 2025.

:Caps and goals correct as of 2 December 2025, after the match against Brazil.

Recent call-ups

The following players have also been called up to the squad within the past 12 months.

;Notes

• INJ = Withdrew due to injury
• PRE = Preliminary squad / standby

Previous squads

;FIFA Women's World Cup

• 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup squad ;UEFA European Women's Championship
• UEFA Women's Euro 2017 squad
• UEFA Women's Euro 2022 squad ;Algarve Cup
• Algarve Cup 2013 squad
• Algarve Cup 2014 squad
• Algarve Cup 2015 squad
• Algarve Cup 2016 squad
• Algarve Cup 2017 squad
• Algarve Cup 2018 squad
• Algarve Cup 2019 squad
• Algarve Cup 2020 squad

Records

:Players in bold are still active with the national team.

Most capped players

Top goalscorers

Competitive record

FIFA Women's World Cup

Main article: Portugal at the FIFA Women's World Cup

:*Draws include knockout matches decided via penalty shoot-out.

UEFA European Women's Championship

Main article: Portugal at the UEFA Women's Championship

:*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

UEFA Women's Nations League

Olympics

Algarve Cup

The Algarve Cup is an invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious and longest-running women's international football events and has been nicknamed the "Mini FIFA Women's World Cup."

Torneio Internacional de Futebol Feminino

Notes

References

References

1. ''Selecção das Quinas'' refers to the five shields ("Team of the [[Escutcheon (heraldry). Escutcheons]]") or the five dots inside them ("Team of the [[Bezants]]") in the [[Flag of Portugal. Portuguese flag]], used until the 70s as the shirt badge. Refer to [[Flag of Portugal]] for symbolism associated with these bezants.
2. "A História da Seleção Feminina de Futebol: Da estreia em Le Mans, em 1981, ao cumprir do sonho do Mundial, com alguns percalços pelo meio".
3. "Russia Women To Be Replaced By Portugal At UEFA Women's Euro 2022".
4. Nowakowski, Wojciech. (2023-08-08). "Morocco, Ireland, Portugal: All 8 Women's World Cup debutants and how far they made it".
5. (27 July 2023). "Portugal celebrates first win ever at FIFA Women's World Cup". Portugal Resident.
6. "Portugal (F) - Calendrier et résultats Coupe du monde féminine 2023 : tous les matchs - Football".
7. UEFA.com. "UEFA Women's Nations League".
8. UEFA.com. (2023-12-05). "UEFA Women's Nations League 2023/24, résultats de la phase de groupes".
9. ''Selecção das Quinas'' refers to the five shields ("Team of the [[Escutcheon (heraldry). Escutcheon]]s") or the five dots inside them ("Team of the [[Bezants]]") in the [[Flag of Portugal. Portuguese flag]], used until the 70s as the shirt badge. Refer to [[Flag of Portugal]] for symbolism associated with these bezants.
10. {{UEFA match attendance. 2042905. Belgium v Portugal. (26 February 2025)
11. "Seleção A Feminina - A equipa técnica FPF". [[Portuguese Football Federation.
12. (21 November 2025). "Convocadas Para Jogos Com Países Baixos e Brasil". Federação Portuguesa de Futebol / Portuguese Football Federation.
13. [https://www.fpf.pt/pt/selecoes/futebol-feminino/selecao-a/equipa Portuguese Squad]
14. "UEFA Women's Euro 2017 squad".
15. (9 March 2011). "Women's game thriving in the Algarve". [[FIFA]].