Portugal's Selecção Boards FIFA Deadline-Day Charter for the United States Ahead of 17 June Houston Debut — Roberto Martínez's 26-Man Squad Lands in Group K With RD Congo, Uzbekistan and Colombia

Portugal's national football side took off from Lisbon's Aeroporto Humberto Delgado on the morning of Friday 12 June 2026, beating the FIFA-imposed deadline that required every Mundial 2026 (World Cup 2026) participant to be on the ground inside the United States, Canada or Mexico by midnight Eastern time. The Federação Portuguesa de Futebol (FPF — Portuguese Football Federation) confirmed a charter flight to Houston George Bush Intercontinental, where the Selecção (national team) sets up its training base at the Marriott Marquis through 28 June, ahead of an opening Group K fixture five days from now.

The 26-Man Roster

Manager Roberto Martínez finalised a 26-man list — one short of the 27 cap permitted by FIFA — with Cristiano Ronaldo as captain, completing what the FPF has framed as his sixth and final World Cup. Diogo Jota, who died in a July 2025 road accident in Spain, carries a symbolic '+1' honorary position retained across the campaign: his number 21 jersey travels with the squad, and the squad warm-up shirts read 'Sempre Connosco, 21' ('Always With Us, 21'). The defensive line draws on Rúben Dias, Gonçalo Inácio, António Silva and Nuno Mendes; the midfield runs through Bernardo Silva, Vitinha, João Neves and Bruno Fernandes; the attack carries Rafael Leão, Pedro Neto, Francisco Conceição and Gonçalo Ramos alongside Ronaldo. Diogo Costa is the first-choice goalkeeper.

Group K — Three Continents in Three Cities

Portugal sits in Group K alongside the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uzbekistan and Colombia. The fixture list runs:

• Tuesday 17 June — Portugal vs DR Congo, NRG Stadium, Houston (kickoff 21:00 Portugal time)
• Saturday 21 June — Portugal vs Uzbekistan, NRG Stadium, Houston (kickoff 19:00 Portugal time)
• Friday 27 June — Portugal vs Colombia, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens (kickoff 22:00 Portugal time)

Two Houston fixtures and a Miami close-out mean the squad logistics consolidate around the Texan base for the first 11 days of the group phase before a 10-flight charter shift to South Florida the day before the Colombia tie.

Free-to-Air Broadcasts in Portugal

RTP1, SIC and TVI confirmed an open-signal broadcast deal with FIFA covering the three Portugal group-stage games plus 17 further fixtures across the tournament — 20 of the 104 Mundial matches available outside the cable wall. The RTP–SIC–TVI consortium splits the schedule by lottery on a rolling weekly basis, with the kickoff schedule released every Sunday for the following seven days. For the Portugal group games, all three free-to-air channels carry the matches simultaneously under a co-broadcast arrangement.

Pre-Tournament Form

Roberto Martínez's group wrapped its preparation with two friendlies inside Portugal: a 2-1 defeat of Chile at the Estádio Nacional do Jamor on Saturday 6 June, and a 4-0 dispatch of Nigeria at the Estádio Municipal Dr. Magalhães Pessoa in Leiria on Wednesday 10 June. The final tune-up before the trip was the 31 March visit to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, where Portugal beat the host United States 2-0 — a result the FPF flagged as a useful benchmark for North American summer-heat conditioning.

What Expats Should Plan For

For Portugal-based viewers, the 21:00 Tuesday 17 June kickoff in Houston falls inside the Marchas Populares de Lisboa weekend and the IPMA red heat-warning window. Lisbon's Câmara Municipal has activated the Lisbon Football Arena at Terreiro do Paço — a 39-day free-entry fan zone running through 19 July with daily broadcasts on a 200m² LED screen. Capacity caps at 12,000 standing, and CML asks visitors to arrive 90 minutes before kickoff for security screening.