Vitinha finished third in the Ballon d’Or rankings, and that has become part of the case for Portugal as a World Cup contender. With Bruno Fernandes beside him, Portugal’s midfield now looks like the side’s clearest route to its first final.
Vitinha was third behind Ousmane Dembélé and Lamine Yamal, and he also supplied 11 assists this season across all competitions for Paris Saint-Germain. In the Champions League final against Arsenal, he was named player of the match after completing 141 passes, 75 of them in the opposition half, and touching the ball 162 times.
Bruno Fernandes adds the other half
Fernandes gives Portugal a second high-output creator. He produced nine goals and 21 assists in his most productive Premier League campaign for Manchester United, led the league with 136 chances created, and broke the single-season assists record with 21.
His recent numbers for Portugal are just as direct. He scored a hat-trick and created eight chances in the 9-1 win over Armenia in World Cup qualifying, made two assists in the 2-0 win over the United States in April, and scored the winner in the 2-1 win over Chile in Portugal’s last two friendlies.
Portugal’s midfield depth
Portugal’s options do not stop with Vitinha and Fernandes. João Neves, Bernardo Silva, Rúben Neves and Samú Costa all sit in the midfield mix, giving Roberto Martínez a group built to control possession, protect the ball and keep the tempo high when the opponent cannot.
The scale of that control shows up in the broader passing numbers around Vitinha. Across Europe’s top five leagues, he completed 5,234 passes, with 3,001 of them in the opposition’s half. That is the profile of a midfielder who can move Portugal up the pitch without relying on direct play.
Portugal and 2018
The caution is obvious. Portugal have never reached the World Cup final, their best finish was third in 1966, and their last campaign ended in the last 16 in 2018. They are playing in their ninth World Cup and their seventh in a row, so the opportunity is real, but the history is still there.
Roberto Martínez became head coach in 2023, and this squad now carries a cleaner attacking structure than Portugal have had in some recent tournaments. If Vitinha keeps setting the rhythm and Fernandes keeps producing chances, Portugal have enough in midfield to force a different result when the World Cup starts to bite.
