This year in France, the Portuguese football team will not participate in the Olympic Games. But then why?
The men's Olympic football tournament kicked off on Wednesday, July 24. Among the 16 qualified teams are several major teams in the sport, such as Argentina, Who thought they would draw against Morocco before the goal was disallowed two hours later.Or Spain, who beat Uzbekistan with a short header, or even France, who face the United States.
As is often the case in previous editions, unfortunately, Portugal is not among the contenders. Apart from 2016 (a 0-4 quarter-final exit, against Germany), the Seleção is struggling to find a place in this tournament, which, although it is not a European Championship or a World Cup, remains very prestigious.
This year, if the Portuguese failed to qualify for the Olympics, it was due to the performance of the Under-21 team during the Euro Espoirs. To hope to get a ticket to the Olympics, Portugal had to at least reach the semi-finals of this European tournament, which will be held in June 2023. But Rui Jorge's men were eliminated in the quarter-finals by England (1-0).In the end, it was Spain, Israel and Ukraine, the three nations that reached the semi-finals (except the English who do not compete in the Olympics), who qualified.
