Portugal
Last time Portugal qualified to a European Championship was in 2011. In 2007, Portugal hosted the Final Four of the European League and the team came close to claiming a first international trophy before losing 2-3 in a dramatic final against Spain. They finally managed to claim their first title three years later, when they beat rivals Spain in the final of the European League at Guadalajara.
Alexandre Ferreira“I think we should go to the European Championship thinking match by match! Ours is a very difficult pool, but I think we can move on to the 8th Finals. We knew from the beginning that the qualification was within our reach. It was a sort of pressure that we put on ourselves and our mission was successful! It had a special taste for the group itself. I think we have reached a good level and stability! This makes it worth all the efforts and all the ‘failed’ attempts over the last few years.”
Captain of Portugal
Portugal have competed in the FIVB World Championship only twice - their best result an 8th place in 2002. They have yet to qualify for an Olympic Games. Their best ever ranking in the European Championship remains a fourth place from the inaugural edition of 1948 amongst six participants in a round-robin pool.
The Portuguese first qualified for the World League in 1999. The team's best performance in the competition was the fifth place they achieved in 2005. Most recently, Portugal won the 2018 Challenger Cup that granted them a place in this year’s edition of the FIVB Volleyball Nations League.
