Portugal Begins Jorge Jesus Era
Portugal begin preparations today for their Nations League opener against Wales, with the squad holding a recovery session at the Cidade do Futebol in Oeiras. It marks the first day of work under new head coach Jorge Jesus.
Jesus will officially begin his tenure on Thursday, when Portugal face Wales in their Nations League title defence. The Group A4 match kicks off at 7:45pm at the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon.
During this first international window, Portugal will also face Norway twice — away in Oslo on September 27 and at the Estádio do Dragão in Porto on October 4. In between those matches, they will travel to Copenhagen to take on Denmark on October 1.
Portugal have won two of the four editions of the Nations League. Their first title came in 2019, when they beat the Netherlands 1-0 in the final at the Dragão, with Gonçalo Guedes scoring the decisive goal in the 60th minute.
France won the competition in 2021, followed by Spain in 2023, before Portugal lifted the trophy again in 2025. The final against Spain ended 2-2 after extra time, with Portugal eventually winning 5-3 on penalties.
Portugal’s 25-man squad:
Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (FC Porto), Rui Silva (Sporting), Samuel Soares (Benfica).
Defenders: Diogo Dalot (Manchester United, England), João Cancelo (Barcelona, Spain), Gonçalo Inácio (Sporting), Rúben Dias (Manchester City, England), Renato Veiga (Villarreal, Spain), Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain, France), Tomás Araújo (Benfica), Nuno Tavares (Lazio, Italy).
Midfielders: Rúben Neves (Al Hilal, Saudi Arabia), João Neves (Paris Saint-Germain, France), Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain, France), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United, England), Bernardo Silva (Real Madrid, Spain), João Palhinha (Benfica).
Forwards: João Félix (Al Nassr, Saudi Arabia), Francisco Trincão (Al Ahly, Saudi Arabia), Francisco Conceição (Juventus, Italy), Pedro Neto (Chelsea, England), Rafael Leão (Galatasaray, Türkiye), Gonçalo Ramos (AC Milan, Italy), Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr, Saudi Arabia), Fábio Silva (Borussia Dortmund, Germany).
