The Portugal national football team has never won a FIFA World Cup event, coming the closest in 1966 when they reached the semi-finals and ended up in third place for the entire tournament. However, precedents like this one were made to be broken, and fans of the team are already hoping that this year's 2014 World Cup in Brazil will yield brighter results for the athletes wearing the Portugal football shirt.

If you consider yourself a fan of the Portugal national football team, you can join the movement today! Head to the Soccer Box online store, where you will find a full range of Portugal gear, from their red and black home shirt to the Portugal 2014 World Cup away jersey. The away kit is particularly striking this year, manufactured by Nike, designed in white (with blue trim), and bearing the Portugal team's distinctive crest. It's the perfect gift for a soccer fan who is looking to root for Portugal at this year's World Cup event!

Portugal to Celebrate Centennial Milestone in Brazil

When the Portugal soccer team takes to the pitch in Brazil this June, they will be celebrating a major milestone. The Portuguese Football Foundation was first formed in 1914, and the Portugal team has been sprinting up and down soccer pitches ever since. This year, the team marks its 100th year a fact that would make a strong performance at the World Cup that much more poignant.

The Portugal away jersey even includes a nod to the team's triple-digit birthday. On either side of the crest which itself is embroidered right above the heart a year is stitched into the fabric of the shirt. The shirt therefore reads "1914 2014," a fact that will unite every wearer of the shirt, players and fans alike, in pride for the legacy of soccer in Portugal.

World Cup Chances

Superstitious fans will likely think that the "1914 2014" missive embroidered into the Portugal football shirt will bring extra luck and gravitas to the team at this year's World Cup. However, superstition is far from the only thing that the Portugal national football team has in its favor this year.

On the contrary, when players charge the fields in Brazil wearing the Portugal 2014 World Cup away jersey, they will be doing so as one of the most highly ranked and seeded teams in the competition. Current FIFA world rankings show Portugal in third place, trailing only behind Spain (the defending World Cup champions) and Germany. Both teams defeated Portugal in the Euro 2012 competition, the latter in the group phase and the former in the semi-finals.

Despite the 2012 losses, Portugal has been on fire lately and will be looking to deliver rematch victory against both Spain and Germany. The team will get the chance to vanquish Germany early, as both national soccer teams have been drawn into Group G.

Group G will undoubtedly be one of the toughest groups in this year's World Cup group stage, if not the toughest. Not only does Group G include two top-three ranking teams in Portugal and Germany, but it also encompasses the national team from the United States (currently ranked by FIFA at 13), as well as a slightly more wildcard entry in the form of Ghana (ranked at 38).

If Portugal is going to escape the group stage for a chance to take on Spain in a Euro 2012 rematch, the team is going to have to at very least beat Ghana and the United States. If group stage games go according to plan, with no upsets to speak of, then the highly-ranked Portugal should have little to no difficulty advancing to the round of 16. Undoubtedly though, Portugal fans are hoping for their team to win Group G outright, and potentially even knock the Germans out of contention early on.

Do you think that the Portugal national football team can win the 2014 World Cup event and score a poetic victory to go along with their 100-year milestone? If that is a narrative you'd like to root for, stop by Soccer Box today and pick up a Portugal football shirt.