Portugal's under-21s have six wins and have not conceded a single goal
Portugal lead Group B with 19 points, 25 goals scored and none conceded in under-21 European Championship qualifying. The campaign resumes in September.
Some teams win games and some teams simply refuse to let anyone into the house. Portugal’s under-21 side is managing both at once, and the qualifying numbers are the sort you read twice.
How is Portugal doing in under-21 Euro qualifying?
Almost absurdly well. Six straight wins under Luís Freire, 25 goals scored and none conceded, which gives the team both the best attack and the best defence in the qualifying phase. Portugal top Group B on 19 points with comfortable daylight.
Freire became the first under-21 manager to go six games without conceding. His debut in the job was a 5-0 win over Azerbaijan in Barcelos, and the team has not looked back since.
When is the next under-21 match?
The official campaign resumes in September with fixtures against Bulgaria, Gibraltar and the Czech Republic. Until then the job is keeping the group together, which at this age is always the hard part, because the best ones tend to get called up a level or sold abroad.
Why should anyone who only watches the senior side care?
Because this is where the next one comes from. Freire’s squads have pulled in names already circulating at the top level, Mateus Fernandes, Rodrigo Mora and Quenda among them, and a generation that gets used to winning without conceding usually arrives upstairs wearing a different face.
Worth following, particularly in a summer when Portuguese football is busy with the Primeira Liga kicking off on 8 August and a restless transfer market. Official squads and results are published by the Portuguese Football Federation.
By Vasco Almada
Image: Fanny Schertzer / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
