The final matchday of the group stage of the FIP World Cup 2026 left a bittersweet feeling for Portugal. The women’s national 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’s team 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).
The men’s team did finish the group stage with a full slate of victories. The squad led by Gervásio Del Bono defeated Chile 2-1 in the final matchday and confirmed first place in Group C, after also having defeated Qatar (3-0) and Germany (3-0).
Miguel Deus and Nuno Deus opened the tie with a decisive victory over Pablo Vacarezza and Ángel Torres, whom they defeated by a double 6-2. However, Chile leveled the encounter in the second match. Salvador Simões and Pedro Perry were unable to stop the Chilean pair of Javier Valdes and Cristóbal Molina (4-6 and 2-6).
With the playoff tied, António Luque and Diogo Jesus took on the responsibility of closing the encounter. The Portuguese pair responded with a solid performance and defeated Cristóbal Martínez and Sebastián Muñoz 6-3, 6-2, securing Portugal’s third consecutive victory in the championship.
The full slate of victories allows the men’s team toadvance to the quarterfinals as the first in Group C. Consequently, their next opponent will be the Netherlands, the runner-up of Group B, who enters the knockout stage after defeating France (2-1) and Australia (3-0), and losing to Argentina (0-3). The match is scheduled for November 5, no earlier than 6:00 PM local time (4:00 PM Spanish mainland time).
A victory in the quarter-finals would once again place Portugal among the top four teams in the championship and would allow them to aim to match or improve their performance from 2024. In that edition, the Portuguese team reached the semi-finals and, after falling in that round, won the bronze medal by defeating Italy 2-0.
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