The final matchday of the group stage of the FIP World Cup 2026left a bittersweet feeling for Portugal. The women’snational team, which had already secured its place in the quarterfinals, fell 1-2 against the Netherlands and lost the top position in Group D. Meanwhile, the men’steam confirmed its status as a favorite by defeating Chile 2-1 and closing the stage with a perfect record of victories.
The Portuguese women’s team was unable to close the group stage with a victory. Despite having previously secured their qualification for the quarter-finals, the delegation led by José Pires da Silva fell to the Netherlands in a tie that was decided in the third and final match.
The first point went to the Dutch side after Janine Hemmes and Tess De Vocht made a comeback against Ana Catarina Nogueira and Andrea Achando (6-4, 3-6, 4-6).
With Portugal behind, Sofia Araújo and Patrícia Ribeiro took on the responsibility of keeping the Portuguese chances alive: with a double 6-4, they beat Maaike Betz and Liza Groenveld, restoring equality and pushing the decision to the third match.
In the decisive match, Alexandra Silva and Kika Santos were defeated 5-7 and 6-7 by Marcella Koek and Bo Luttikhuis, who managed the moments of greatest pressure to secure the Netherlands’ victory and the top spot in Group D.
Portugal thus concludes the first phase with two victories, against the United States (2-1) and Paraguay (3-0), and a defeat against the Netherlands (1-2). A record that allows them to advance to the quarter-finals as the second-placed team.
The direct consequence will be a highly demanding match against Argentina, first in Group B and the current world runner-up. The Argentine team has a squad with extensive experience in the professional circuit. Among those called up is Delfina Brea, the current world number one. Victoria Milena Vilchez, ranked 372nd, is the only member of the Argentine squad outside the world top 80.
The difference in level anticipates a major challenge for Portugal, which currently has only two players among the top positions in the ranking: Sofía Araújo (9) and Ana Catarina Nogueira (66). A defeat would automatically result in the loss of their seeded status for the FIP World Cup 2028.
The quarter-final match is scheduled for November 5, at 2:00 PM local time (12:00 Spanish mainland time).
| Match 1 | Players | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal | Ana Catarina Nogueira / Andrea Achando | 6 | 3 | 4 |
| Netherlands | Janine Hemmes / Tess De Vocht | 4 | 6 | 6 |
| Match 2 | Players | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal | Sofia Araújo / Patrícia Ribeiro | 6 | 6 | – |
| Netherlands | Maaike Betz / Liza Groenveld | 4 | 4 | – |
| Match 3 | Players | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal | Simone Simas / Kika Santos | 5 | 6 | – |
| Netherlands | Marcella Koek / Bo Luttikhuis | 7 | 7 | – |
The men’s team finished the group stage with a full set of victories. The squad led by Gervásio Del Bono defeated Chile 2-1 in the final matchday and secured first place in Group C, after also beating Qatar (3-0) and Germany (3-0).
Miguel Deus and Nuno Deus opened the knockout stage with a convincing win over Pablo Vacarezza and Ángel Torres, whom they overcame 6-2, 6-2. However, Chile leveled the tie in the second match. Salvador Simões and Pedro Perry were unable to stop the Chilean pair formed by Javier Valdés and Cristóbal Molina (4-6, 2-6).
With the tie level, António Luque and Diogo Jesus took on the responsibility of closing out the match. The Portuguese pair put in a solid performance and defeated Cristóbal Martinez and Sebastián Muñoz 6-3, 6-2, securing Portugal’s third consecutive victory in the tournament.
This run of victories sees the men’s team progress to the quarter-finals as top of Group C. Consequently, their next opponents will be the Netherlands, who finished second in Group B, having beaten France (2–1) and Australia (3–0) and lost to Argentina (0–3). The match is scheduled for 5 November, no earlier than 18:00 local time (16:00 spanish mainland time).
A victory in the quarter-finals would place Portugal once again among the four best teams in the championship and would allow them to aspire to equal or improve upon their performance in 2024. In that edition, the Portuguese team reached the semi-finals and, after being eliminated at that stage, won the bronze medal by defeating Italy 2-0.
| Match 1 | Players | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal | Miguel Deus / Nuno Deus | 6 | 6 | – |
| Chile | Pablo Vacarezza / Ángel Torres | 2 | 2 | – |
| Match 1 | Players | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal | Salvador Simões / Pedro Perry | 4 | 2 | – |
| Chile | Javier Valdes / Cristóbal Molina | 6 | 6 | – |
| Match 1 | Players | Set 1 | Set 2 | Set 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal | António Luque / Diogo Jesus | 6 | 6 | – |
| Chile | Cristóbal Martinez / Sebastián Muñoz | 3 | 2 | – |
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