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.
Contents
Competitive record
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
*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.
Player records
Top appearances
As of 21 June 2025
Note: Club(s) represents the clubs during the player's time in the Under-21s.
Top goalscorers
As of 21 June 2025
Note: Club(s) represents the clubs during the player's time in the Under-21s.
Players
Current squad
Players born on or after 1 January 2004 are eligible for the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.
The following players were called up for the exhibition game against Northern Ireland on 3 June 2026.
Caps and goals correct as of 3 June 2026, after the match against Northern Ireland.
Recent call-ups
The following players have also been called up to the Portugal squad within the last twelve months and remain eligible to be called up.
Head coaches
As of 14 November 2017
Honours
UEFA Under-21 European Championship:
Runners-up (3): 1994, 2015, 2021
Third place (1): 2004