Francisco Trincão: Unlocking his Potential in Portugal
It has been eight years since Benfica claimed their fourth consecutive league title. Since then, no team has managed to win back-to-back championships in Portugal’s top flight, with Benfica, Porto and Sporting vying for supremacy. However, that may be set to change very soon with Sporting on track to claim yet another championship. But if they are to claim their second-straight league title, they’ll need Francisco Trincão to deliver the goods during the home stretch of the campaign.
Born in Viana do Castelo, Trincão began his development with hometown club Vianense before testing his skills at Porto – he quickly grew homesick and returned to Vianense, but he didn’t last long before making the move to Braga in 2011. Trincão ascended the ranks at the Pedreira and made a name for himself for club and country, playing for Portugal from the U17 to the U21 level. However, Trincão’s big breakthrough came in 2018 when he was called up for the 2018 UEFA European Under-19 Championship in Finland.
With attacking stars João Félix and Rafael Leão unavailable, Trincão seized the opportunity and played a crucial role in attack for Portugal, finishing as the tournament’s joint top goalscorer alongside his teammate Jota.
Unlocking Francisco Trincao
Three of his five goals came in the knockout round – after bagging a brace in a 5-0 win vs. Ukraine, Trincão scored in a 4-3 extra time victory vs Italy in the final. Five months later, Trincão made his first-team debut for Braga in a 4–0 victory at Vitória de Setúbal. However, he would have to wait just over a year before making his start, bagging a goal in a 7-1 demolition of B-SAD. Trincão quickly caught the eye under Rúben Amorim thanks to his flashy dribbling skills and ball manipulation – just four weeks after his full debut, Trincão signed a five-year contract with Barcelona, who paid a fee of €31 million and tied him down with a buyout clause of €500 million.
He remained on loan at Braga before heading to Spain for the 2020/21 season. However, Trincão struggled to cope with the adjustment and mustered just 3 goals and 2 assists in 42 appearances before heading out on loan to Wolves. Trincão’s move to Molineux didn’t quite bear fruit, with the ambipedal winger registering just 3 goals and 1 assist in 30 appearances before returning to his parent club. However, as his compatriot Vitinha has proven at Paris Saint-Germain, a disappointing loan spell at Wolves doesn’t necessarily mean you’re destined to be a nobody. Trincão joined Sporting CP on a one-year loan deal for a €3 million fee, with a conditional €7 million obligation to buy 50% of his economic rights, with a reported buy-back clause between €20 and €25 million.
Reunited with Amorim, Trincão was able to take the next step in his career and go from wonderkid to readymade star. He racked up 13 goals and 4 assists in 52 appearances in 2022/23, and his second year in the capital would see him upstage Marcus Edwards for the starting right winger position (although he also filled in at left wing on occasion). Working his magic alongside Viktor Gyökeres, Trincão registered 10 goals and 10 assists in 48 appearances as Sporting reclaimed the league title. Thanks to these impressive displays, Trincão was able to earn a recall to the Portuguese national team, coming on for the final half-hour of a 3-1 win vs Poland in October 2024 – his first competitive appearance in nearly four years. The following month saw him achieve his ninth cap and come off the bench for the final minutes of a 5-1 win vs Poland.
Fulfilling his potential at Sporting CP
This season, Trincão has enjoyed the best form of his entire career, racking up 9 goals and 16 assists in 47 appearances. Capable of filling in across the frontline, Trincão is an intelligent forward who thrives on creating chances for his teammates and putting his sensational dribbling skills and direct running to good use. Similar to Miguel Ángel Benítez, Trincão can change direction at a moment’s notice and leave his opponent in his dust with a quick drop of the shoulder. He excels at exploiting space and working his way into advanced areas, and he’s always hungry to win the ball back in the final third and jumpstart the counter-attack – only Gyökeres (1.1) is winning possession more times in the final third per 90 than Trincão (1.0) in Sporting’s squad, whilst only Gyökeres (4.1) is averaging more shots per game in the league than Trincão (3.0).
He has racked up 12 assists in the league, four more than the next-best player (Benfica’s Kerem Aktürtoglu and Porto’s Francisco Moura), whilst only Aktürtoglu (15) has created more big chances than him (14). But Trincão isn’t just an astute chance creator who can test the goalkeeper – he’s also a cunning winger who can wriggle his way out of congested areas, who can launch a counter-attack and carry the ball from one box to the other, and who has the composed decision-making to retain possession and find a teammate before being dispossessed. He is averaging 2.2 key passes per match, second only to Benfica’s Orkun Kökçü (2.4), whilst only Famalicão’s Óscar Aranda (2.7) and Benfica’s Bruma (2.4) are averaging more successful dribbles per match than Trincão (2.3).
From Portugal with love
“He’s a great player, and a great lad as well,” stated Everton goalkeeper João Virgínia, who won the 2018 U-19 Euros alongside Trincão. “He’s very humble, very down-to-earth, and every time I played with him I felt like he’s got so much potential. He’s been at Barcelona already and obviously Barcelona was a tough move for him at a young age, but it’s good to see him performing every week at Sporting. He’s definitely a big factor in Sporting’s success lately.”
Trincão returned to the Portuguese national team in March but remained an unused substitute in their 1-0 defeat at Denmark. In order to qualify for the UEFA Nations League semifinals, Portugal needed a big response in the second leg. They took the lead before the break only to concede a goal to Rasmus Kristensen, but Cristiano Ronaldo would atone for his failure to hit the target from the penalty spot by restoring Portugal’s advantage. Denmark bounced back immediately as Patrick Dorgu set up his Manchester United teammate Christian Eriksen for the equaliser. Desperate for an answer, Martínez subbed Trincão on for Diogo Dalot in the 81st minute. Portugal looked headed for elimination until the 86th minute, when Kasper Schmeichel punched the ball clear to the edge of the box, where Nuno Mendes cushioned it into the path of Trincão. Never taking his eyes off the ball, Trincão took it on the half-volley and fired a rocket of a shot into the back of the net to send it to extra time.
Portugal would finally take the aggregate lead in the first minute of extra time; after Schmeichel got a strong hand to Gonçalo Ramos’ shot, Trincão was there to pick it up on the rebound. Showcasing a similar goal-scoring instinct to that of Mutiu Adepoju, Trincão decided to take it on the first touch despite it being a fairly tight angle. He got his laces on it and rolled the ball past the veteran goalkeeper and into the back of the net, whilst Ramos would seal the victory in the 115th minute. Having waited five years to score his first Portugal goal, Trincão had scored not one but two.
He returned from the international break by starting in attack in Sporting’s 3-0 win at Estrela da Amadora in the league as well as their 2-0 win against Rio Ave in the Taça de Portugal, before drawing 1-1 to Braga – as a result of Benfica’s win against Porto, Sporting would relinquish first place. However, they returned to the leaderboard a week later thanks to their 1-0 win vs. Santa Clara, which saw Trincão assist Geny Catamo’s goal, and Benfica’s 2-2 draw vs. Arouca. With five matches remaining, Sporting currently sit atop the Liga Portugal table, level on 69 points with Benfica but with a superior goal differential (+51 vs. +46).
Trincão looks set to play a pivotal role for Portugal as they prepare to face Germany on June 4 in the UEFA Nations League semifinals at the Allianz Arena – if they prevail in Munich, they will face the winner of Spain and France in the final. But before that, he’ll be looking to guide Sporting to their 21st league title.
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