Star player:
Cristiano Ronaldo

Previous appearances:
1966 (third place), 1986 (first round), 2002 (first round), 2006 (fourth place).

How they qualified
UEFA
Malta (a)        4-0
Denmark (h)   2-3
Sweden (a)    0-0
Albania (a)      2-1
Denmark (a)   1-1
Hungary (a)    1-0
Hungary (h)    3-0
Malta (h)        4-0

Qualifying playoffs
Boznia Herzegovina (h)    1-0
Boznia Herzegovina (a)    1-0

Chances:
As a group the current generation does not quite compare to that of Luis Figo, Rui Costa et al but in Ronaldo they possess arguably the finest player on the planet. Would be disappointed not to get to the last eight in South Africa.

Strange but true
Now a leading European team, Portugal did not feature in the first seven World Cups and finished third at their first attempt in 1966, eight years after recording their record loss: a 10-0 defeat by England. They have played just three tournaments since then, also making the semis in 2006.