A full-back in a league of his own

This week, the 2016 European Championship winners faced a Croatian side led by 40-year-old veteran Luka Modrić, who was playing in his fifth World Cup. The legendary midfielder guided Croatia to the final of the tournament in 2018 and won the ‘Ballon d'Or’ at the end of that same year.

Croatia had plenty of reasons to be wary of their Round of 32 conquerers. Portugal boasted Cristiano Ronaldo – a five-time winner of the Ballon d’Or – and possessed a squad packed with players who have already been nominated for the award, such as Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha, João Neves, Bernardo Silva, João Félix, Rafael Leão and João Cancelo.

And one name that was sure to send shivers down the spine of Bayern Munich's Josip Stanišić - playing down Croatia’s right flank - was Nuno Mendes.

At 24, the Portuguese full-back has established himself as one of the best and most feared players in his position in the world. Strong in one-on-one duels, solid defensively and possessing impressive pace, he also causes havoc in attack with his ability to dribble and create chances.

The origins of a star

Mendes was born in the Portuguese town of Sintra and began his career in the youth ranks at Sporting CP. At the club, he quickly moved from playing as an attacking midfielder to left-back, a position in which he soon excelled.

He made his debut for Sporting’s first team in 2020 and, at the age of 18, became the youngest player to start for the club since Cristiano Ronaldo in 2002 – who happens to be one of his greatest childhood idols.

His spell with the first team was a huge success. In just one season, he won the Primeira Liga, the League Cup and the Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup in 2021. In the Super Cup final, he provided the assist for Jovane Cabral’s goal against Braga, which secured the title for Sporting.

Also in 2021, he received his first nomination for the Kopa Trophy.

His breakthrough at PSG

In the second half of that year, Mendes was loaned to Paris Saint-Germain for a season, with an option to buy at the end of the contract.

Throughout his first year in Paris, he put in a string of impressive defensive performances, helping PSG win their tenth French League title. The Portuguese player was also nominated for the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year award, made the Team of the Season and, for the second year running, was nominated for the Kopa Trophy.

Unsurprisingly, PSG exercised the buy-out clause and signed him on a permanent basis.

It was a decision that paid off handsomely.

Over the course of his five seasons at the club, Mendes has established himself as one of the world’s best full-backs and has become a key figure in PSG’s run of titles in recent years.

Last year, he received his first nomination for the Ballon d'Or and finished tenth in the awards.

To date, Mendes has won 14 titles with PSG, including five consecutive Ligue 1 titles and the club’s first-ever Champions League title in 2025 – followed by a second this season.

Over the course of last season, the full-back also became the youngest Portuguese player in history to reach 50 Champions League appearances, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo’s previous record.

Ready for another battle

Having played nearly 1,500 minutes in the competition this season alone, it would have been reasonable to imagine that Mendes would arrive at the World Cup with the Portuguese national team feeling worn out.

Far from it. The left-back seems more lively than ever.

Having played virtually every minute of Portugal’s group-stage matches, Mendes has once again shown why he is considered one of the world’s best in his position, making a significant contribution both in defence and attack.

His attacking presence had already caught the eye in Portugal’s opening match, a 1–1 draw with DR Congo, when he was the player with the most touches in the opposition’s penalty area throughout the match. But it was in the following match, the 5–0 thrashing of Uzbekistan, that this became even more evident.

In the 17th minute, Pedro Neto was fouled on the edge of the box. Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up to take the free-kick, with Mendes by his side. Naturally, all the Uzbekistan players were expecting CR7 to take the shot – one of the greatest free-kick specialists in history, who had already opened the scoring just a few minutes earlier.

But Portugal had a different plan.

Ronaldo feigned as if he were about to take the kick, but it was Mendes who ran onto the ball, struck it with his left foot and found the back of the net.

It was a clever move, devised by one of the greatest players in football history and executed by one of the leading lights of the new generation of Portuguese footballers.

In a way, the move symbolised a passing of the torch between generations: from an established star to one of his successors.

Later, Mendes revealed that the idea for the move had come from Ronaldo himself: “Cristiano said: ‘I’ll feint as if I’m going to shoot, and then you take the shot.’ It went something like that.” (Itatiaia)

The man who stopped Yamal

But this isn’t the first time Mendes has made his mark for Portugal in a major tournament.

Last year, he was one of the key players in Portugal’s Nations League victory. He provided the assist for Ronaldo’s decisive goal against Germany in the semi-final and scored his first goal for the senior team in the final against Spain.

As a reward, he was voted the best player not only of the final, but of the entire tournament.

His performance in the final was particularly notable not only for the goal, but also for the way he managed to neutralise Lamine Yamal – who finished second in last year’s ‘Ballon d'Or’ – right from the kick-off.

The Barcelona star is one of the best players in the world, possessing a dribbling ability capable of dismantling any defence. Even so, he has always found it very difficult when up against Nuno Mendes.

This week, Yamal was asked about the toughest opponent he has ever faced. His answer was immediate: “For me, it’s Nuno Mendes. He’s very good. I enjoy playing against him.” (Spanish Football Federation)

It remains to be seen whether Mendes and Yamal will face each other again in this World Cup but don't rule out another decisive moment for a player who can now - by any metric - be considered one of the most complete full-backs in world football.