Nation: Portugal
FIFA ranking: 9th
World Cup achievements: Third place (1966), fourth place (2006)

Sky Sports' Sam Blitz:

Euro 2016 winners Portugal's route through World Cup qualification was far from straightforward.

With what looked like an uncomplicated qualifying group coming to a close, all Cristiano Ronaldo and co had to do was beat Serbia in the final round of matches to directly reach Qatar.

But a stunning collapse in that match saw Aleksandar Mitrovic lead the Serbs to a 2-1 win on Portuguese soil, condemning their opponents to the play-offs.

Doubts over whether Ronaldo would reach what is likely to be his last World Cup intensified when they were drawn with Turkey and Italy in their four-team play-off group – but wins over Turkey and North Macedonia sealed Portugal’s spot in the finals.

Despite being crowned European champions six years ago, Portugal's World Cup form has been rather sketchy. Since finishing third at the 1966 World Cup, the Portuguese have only advanced into the semi-finals once – at the 2006 World Cup when they finished fourth.

Yet even though their World Cup record is poor, write off this Portugal team at your peril.

With some of the best defenders in the world to call upon – and one of the greatest collections of attackers of all time – confidence in a relatively straightforward group could skyrocket by the latter rounds of the tournament.

Group H

Fixtures & results

Most recent squad

Insight

The conversation about pre-tournament Portugal always tends to involve Cristiano Ronaldo - but never one like this.

The 37-year-old's lack of form for Manchester United has led to questions over whether Portugal's captain is the best possible option to lead the line in Qatar - among a host of younger and more in-form attacking options.

Make no mistake - nobody will be more determined to bring success to the national team than Ronaldo, who has personal achievements to chase in the Middle East.

The World Cup is the only trophy that has evaded him so far in his career and Ronaldo has hinted he wants to keep playing international football until the 2024 European Championships. There are no guarantees he will be around for the 2026 World Cup, so this could be his last chance of glory in this competition.

But there are plenty of other attacking options for Portugal manager Fernando Santos to pick. Joao Felix, Ricardo Horta, Rafael Leao, Diogo Jota and Andre Silva have all been in and among the goals across Europe over the last couple of seasons. Could it be possible that the great Ronaldo watches on from the side?

With so many top options in defence, midfield and attack for Portugal - there is no question of Portugal's quality.

The usual problem lies ahead for national team manager Santos, which is picking the right combination of players from the intense squad depth that exists.

Player to watch

Name: Rafael Leao
Position: Winger
Club: AC Milan
Age: 23

Rafael Leao is yet to score for his country - which does not bode well for a 'Player to Watch' pick - but there is no doubt of his attacking quality going into this tournament.

The 23-year-old only made his international debut for Portugal a year ago but his past 12 months have been sensational.

The winger scored 14 goals across all competitions for AC Milan last season as the Rossoneri won their first Scudetto in 11 years and has since solidified his spot in what is a very competitive Portugal squad up front.

Pace, power and clinical finishing are part of a very impressive repertoire for Leao, who is reportedly catching the eye of several Premier League clubs.

AC Milan manager Stefano Pioli and Fabio Capello have both compared the attacker to Thierry Henry in terms of his style of play, while Leao has also earned the tagline 'The Portuguese Mbappe'.

Anything close to the impact Mbappe showed four years ago and Leao is going to have a winter to remember.

Where will Portugal stay?

Al Samriya Autograph Collection

Qatar stadiums

Qualification in pictures

Portugal were one win away from automatic qualification but lost to Serbia to go into the play-offs

Diogo Jota celebrates scoring against Turkey in the World Cup play-off semi-final

Bruno Fernandes scored as Portugal overcame Italy's conquerors North Macedonia in the World Cup play-off final