The Selecao, who lifted the trophy in 2016, won every game in Group J, beating Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Slovakia home and away.
Fernandes played a starring role on the road to Germany, contributing six goals to Portugal’s sizeable final tally of 36.
Our skipper also led the way in terms of assists, setting up his team-mates eight times and acting as the creative hub of a side that has only lost twice since Martinez took charge in January 2023, in friendlies against Slovenia and Croatia.
Although they were eliminated by the Netherlands in the round of 16 three years ago, Portugal have great pedigree in this tournament, having not failed to reach the knockout stages in eight previous attempts.