Confederations Cup 2017: Portugal has started planning for its future

One should always be careful with the Confederations Cup. It exists in a kind of mezzanine level between ‘proper tournament’ and ‘meaningless collection of friendlies,’ and as such, the competing nations tend to take varying approaches to their summer’s work.

Take the varied approaches of the champions of Europe and the champions of the world. The latter, Germany, have decided to blood the youngsters: There isn’t a single player in their squad over the age of 30 or with more than 30 caps. But the former, Portugal, are taking a different tack. It looks like they’re taking the competition as seriously as possible, and almost all the elder statesmen are coming.

The average age of the 23-man squad is just under 28, and there’s plenty of international experience to go with the years. In defence, they’ve included Bruno Alves (35), Pepe (34), and José Fonte (33), proud owners of 195 caps among them. João Moutinho (30, 98 caps) will bustle around in the middle, and Nani (30, 108 caps) and Ricardo Quaresma (33, 65 caps) out wide. Then, of course, there’s Cristiano Ronaldo (32, 139 caps), whose efficacy doesn’t seem to diminish even as he turns into a statue of himself.

We tend to think about international football in generations, perhaps because the two-year cycle of international tournaments lends itself to a sense of grand transitions. As such, we might conclude from the above that the Confederations Cup, and likely Russia 2018, will be a valedictory campaign for this senior group — one last hurrah for the Ronaldo-led generation that came after the Golden Generation, which history will remember as the winners of Euro 2016. The Bronzed Generation, perhaps.

In truth, the borders between generations are always blurry, as players come and go to their own career schedules. Ronaldo and Quaresma, prodigies both, made their debuts in 2003. Nani arrived in 2005, Moutinho 2006, and Pepe and Bruno Alves didn’t get their caps until 2007. But former Barcelona genius Deco’s international career ran from 2003 to 2010, which is the same year current first-choice goalkeeper Rui Patrício made his debut. Maybe they could be considered half-members. Meanwhile Fonte, a real José-come-lately, didn’t make his debut until 2014.

That same blurring of the boundaries can be seen this time around as well: When it comes to Portugal’s first-team, the generational transition has already begun. Ronaldo will play until his legs fall off, Pepe is still excellent, and Moutinho has a fair few years left in him. But last year’s Euro 2016 final included plenty of the next lot. William Carvalho, Raphaël Guerreiro, Renato Sanches, Joao Mario. They all started the final; all aged 25 or under; all did their jobs excellently. And all deserve their share of the triumph.

The latter two have missed out on this tournament after indifferent seasons with their clubs, but Carvalho and Guerreiro have been regular starters over the last few years. And where the Euro 2016 campaign asserts the qualities of some of this squad, the transfer market vouches for plenty of the rest. After a barnstorming season with Monaco, 22-year-old Bernardo Silva has gone to join Pep Guardiola in Manchester, while Sporting’s Gelson Martins may also be moving to the English northwest, if his links to Liverpool come to anything.

Meanwhile André Silva has just joined AC Milan’s ambitious rebuilding project, and he is that most precious and wonderful footballer of all: a prolific Portuguese striker. Given the rarity of such a player, it’s a wonder that the Portuguese government let him out of the country.

If the teamsheets from World Cup qualifying are anything to go by, plenty of the old guard will feature in Portugal’s tilt at the Confederations Cup and probably in Russia as well. But the next generation of Portuguese football is here already, just waiting for its chance, and it looks pretty decent. Now all they need is a snappy name.