The Portuguese overcame the group stage very confidently, and in the 1/8 finals they surprised all the skeptics by defeating the Swiss even without the help of the captain. Fernando Santos has shown that he is able to build a game without Cristiano Ronaldo.

Judging by the energy that the players radiated on the field, they could reach the podium of the World Cup and at least repeat the best result in the history of the national team – third place in the 1966 tournament.

Then, however, they could not do without the main star. In the quarter-final, the great Eusebio performed a real miracle by scoring… poker against his opponents.

rare opportunity

The Portuguese national team is naturally considered one of the strongest teams on the planet, but it was not always included in the world elite. It’s hard to imagine, but in the 20th century the Portuguese played only twice in the world championships! The team simply couldn’t qualify for the tournament, even with one of the greatest footballers of all time on the team.

A native of Mozambique, Eusebio could have gone to the 1962 World Cup, but the European team did not make it to Chile, for the sixth time left out of the main tournament of four years. His debut for the national team began with a qualifying match against Luxembourg, in which the favorites lost 2-4, although the young star scored the first goal for the national team.

By that time, Black Panther had not yet become the leader and captain of the national team, but as part of Benfica he won the European Cup in 1962, surprising experts for the second time in a row, accustomed to the hegemony of Real Madrid

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Four years later, at the peak of his career, the winner of the Golden Ball nevertheless led the team to the final tournament of the World Cup, achieving a historic achievement for the country.

Amazing Debut

The tournament in England, which began with the sensational theft of the Jules Rimet Cup and the no less fantastic story of its discovery by a dog named Pickles, continued to surprise at the group stage.

The Portuguese, as newcomers to the competition, won all three matches in the group on the move, and in the third round they defeated the reigning world champions from Brazil. Eusebio scored a double in that game. In addition to Seleçao, the bronze medalists of Euro 1964 Hungarians and the outsider of the group, the Bulgarian national team, were beaten.

At the same time, the DPRK national team made an incredible debut in the other quartet. Like the Portuguese, having made their way to the tournament for the first time, the North Korean team beat the Italians, two-time world champions at that time, in the last match of the group stage, and secured a passage to the next stage.

Legendary Poker

Taking second place in the group and losing only to the USSR national team, the Asians reached the playoffs, where they had to play with Portugal. The Europeans, led by Eusebio, were considered unconditional favorites, but by the 25th minute they were losing 0:3.

The dream of millions of fans collapsed in a quarter of the match, and few imagined how to equalize the situation on the field. Moreover, the audience at the stadium “Goodison Park” sympathized with the outsider, who at the moment was moving confidently towards the semi-finals.

However, at this critical moment, the role of the leader was played by the legendary striker. Physically strong and fast Eusebio single-handedly ruined the DPRK.

– The Koreans showed high-quality football, but at a rather slow pace. They were no match for their opponent in terms of physical strength. The Portuguese developed their attacks very easily, the match report said.

The 24-year-old striker managed to score two goals in the first half: one from the field, one from the penalty spot, which he himself earned. Eusebio equalized 11 minutes into the second half. In the 59th minute, the Portuguese converted the second penalty and scored the winning goal, scoring poker. Augusto put an end to the match 10 minutes before its end, fixing one of the most dramatic and memorable comebacks in the playoffs of the world championships.

Photo: © Evening Standard / Stringer / Hulton Archive / Gettyimages.com

In the semi-finals, Eusebio again scored, but Bobby Charlton, with his double, brought the English to the decisive game of the tournament. In the bronze medal match, the Portuguese defeated the USSR, and the Benfica striker again scored from the penalty spot, becoming the top scorer with nine goals.

The achievement of 1966 remains the most significant for Portugal so far. In Qatar, their main star seems to have already lost its former strength, so the main question before the quarter-finals with Morocco remains Ronaldo’s condition. Will Cristiano be able to follow in Eusebio’s footsteps and take the team to the semi-finals or will the captain not even get the opportunity to enter the field?