Nuno Tavares’ Lazio Revival Earns Portugal Recall
For a player many had quietly filed under “lost potential,” Nuno Tavares has found an unlikely stage for redemption: Rome, under Gennaro Gattuso.
Twelve months ago, the Lazio full-back looked stuck. A difficult season under Maurizio Sarri had left his confidence frayed and his future in limbo. With Alfonso Pedraza arriving in the summer, the script seemed written – Tavares would either be eased out or reduced to a permanent understudy.
He refused to accept either role.
Gattuso’s Bet
The turning point came with the change in the dugout. Where Sarri had exposed Tavares’ defensive flaws, Gattuso chose a different route. He leaned into the player’s raw tools, then demanded more.
The message was clear: defend with discipline, attack with conviction.
Tavares responded. He used the scars of that previous season as a lesson, tightening his positioning, sharpening his one‑v‑one work, and cutting out the lapses that once made him a risk. In return, Gattuso handed him something every attacking full-back craves – freedom.
From the left flank, Tavares now drives at opponents with license to surge forward for 90 minutes. The balance has changed: he still overlaps, still stretches the pitch, but now does it with a better sense of when to hold and when to go.
The result? He is no longer the expendable option. He is a starter, and a decisive one.
A Statement Night Against Milan
His resurgence crystallised in one game. In Lazio’s 2-2 draw with AC Milan, Tavares produced the kind of performance that forces a national coach to take notice.
He was, by most measures, Lazio’s standout player on the pitch. Constantly available on the overlap, aggressive in duels, and influential in both of his side’s goals, he played a central role in the moves finished by Matteo Cancellieri and Tijjani Noslin. Every time Lazio broke, he seemed to be there, either as the outlet or the extra runner.
That night in the capital didn’t just rescue a point. It helped relaunch an international career.
Back in the Portugal Picture
Portugal’s new head coach, Jorge Jesus, has seen enough. Tavares is back in the national squad for the upcoming extended international break, a return that would have felt distant not so long ago.
He will not walk into the starting XI. Nuno Mendes, the Paris Saint-Germain star, is widely viewed as the premier left-back in world football, and remains the undisputed first choice. Tavares will, on paper, serve as his understudy.
But this is not a token call-up. The schedule gives him a genuine opening.
Portugal face four group-stage fixtures in the latest edition of the UEFA Nations League – against Wales, Norway twice, and Denmark. With that kind of workload, rotation is inevitable. At some point, whether from the start or off the bench, the Lazio defender should get his chance to prove that his club form can translate to the international stage.
For a player with so little previous involvement, that matters.
A Thin but Telling International Record
Tavares’ international CV is still short. Three caps, all off the bench. No starts. His last appearance came against Hungary in October 2025, a brief cameo that quickly faded into the background as he slipped out of contention.
He has not been called up since. Until now.
This recall doesn’t rewrite his past, but it does offer a clean slate. A defender once criticised for being too loose, too erratic, now returns with a more rounded game and a manager at club level who trusts him in the most demanding situations.
The stakes are obvious: perform here, and he moves from temporary solution to long-term option behind Mendes. Falter, and the wait for another chance could be long.
Ronaldo Still the Headline Name
Even with Tavares’ revival, one name inevitably dominates the squad list.
Cristiano Ronaldo is in again. At 30-something-plus and still representing Al Nassr, his continued presence remains the biggest talking point around any Portugal announcement. As debates rage about generational change and succession, his selection continues to frame the conversation, even as new faces like Tavares fight their way back into the fold.
Yet this squad tells a broader story of balance: established leaders mixed with rising talent, domestic stalwarts alongside exports scattered across Europe and beyond.
Portugal’s group features a familiar core: Diogo Costa, Rui Silva and Samuel Soares in goal. At the back, Diogo Dalot, João Cancelo, Gonçalo Inácio, Rúben Dias, Renato Veiga, Nuno Mendes, Tomás Araújo and Tavares himself.
Midfield carries a blend of steel and artistry: Rúben Neves, João Neves, Vitinha, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and João Palhinha.
Up front, the options are varied and dangerous: João Félix, Francisco Trincão, Francisco Conceição, Pedro Neto, Rafael Leão, Gonçalo Ramos, Ronaldo and Fábio Silva.
It is within that high-calibre environment that Tavares must now prove he belongs.
From Rome to the Nations League
The Nations League may not carry the weight of a World Cup or European Championship, but for players on the fringes, it can change careers.
For Tavares, this is the bridge between his Lazio rebirth and something more permanent with the Seleção. His club form has earned him the door back in; what happens over these four fixtures will decide whether it stays open.
Gattuso has given him his platform. Now, under Jorge Jesus, we find out if the renaissance in Rome can survive the jump to the international stage.
