Nuno Tavares' Lazio Revival Earns Portugal Recall

For a year, Nuno Tavares looked like a defender drifting towards the margins. Now he’s walking back into the Portugal squad on merit, not memory.

From Sarri’s sidelines to Gattuso’s trusted runner

Last season under Maurizio Sarri was brutal for the former Arsenal full-back. Confidence low, minutes uncertain, and with every mistake magnified, his future in Rome looked fragile. When Alfonso Pedraza arrived in the summer, the script seemed written: Tavares would either leave or watch from the bench.

He refused to accept either role.

Drawing on the lessons – and scars – from his time under Sarri, the 26-year-old tightened the weakest part of his game. Positioning, one‑v‑one duels, defensive awareness: the details that often betrayed him began to sharpen. The raw athlete started to look like a rounded full-back.

Then came Gennaro Gattuso. The new Lazio coach didn’t just keep him; he backed him. Tavares was reinstated as a starter and handed exactly the kind of job he thrives on: defend with discipline, then explode forward at every opportunity. License to run, but with a clearer structure behind it.

The response has been emphatic.

A statement performance against Milan

If there was one match that crystallised his resurgence, it came in the 2-2 draw with AC Milan. On a pitch packed with star names, Tavares was arguably Lazio’s standout performer.

He drove the team up the left flank, constantly stretching Milan’s shape and playing a decisive part in both Lazio goals, finished by Matteo Cancellieri and Tijjani Noslin. It wasn’t just the attacking thrust that stood out, but the maturity in his defensive work. He picked his moments, chose his battles, and rarely lost them.

That night in Rome travelled quickly. Straight to the desk of Portugal’s new head coach, Jorge Jesus.

Jorge Jesus opens the door

Jesus has wasted little time in putting his stamp on the national team, and Tavares is one of the early beneficiaries. The Lazio defender has been recalled for the extended international break, a reward for form rather than reputation.

He will not walk into the XI. With Paris Saint-Germain’s Nuno Mendes widely regarded as the best left-back in the world, Tavares arrives as the understudy. But this is no token call-up.

Portugal face a demanding run of four group-stage fixtures in the latest UEFA Nations League, taking on Wales, Norway twice, and Denmark. Rotation will be unavoidable. Over that kind of schedule, a flying, in-form full-back who can cover the entire flank becomes more than a luxury. He becomes a tool.

Minutes will come. The question is what Tavares does with them.

An interrupted international story

For now, his international record remains modest: three caps, all from the bench. His last appearance came against Hungary in October 2025. After that, the line went dead. No call, no camp, no chance to build momentum with the Selecao.

That silence has finally been broken.

Yet even on a day that marks his return, another name inevitably dominates the conversation: Cristiano Ronaldo. The veteran forward, now with Al Nassr, remains in the squad and continues to shape the narrative around any Portugal list. His inclusion is still the headline.

But scan the defenders, and you see a different kind of story – one of a player who has fought his way back into the picture.

Portugal squad in full

• Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (FC Porto), Rui Silva (Sporting), Samuel Soares (Benfica).
• Defenders: Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), João Cancelo (Barcelona), Gonçalo Inácio (Sporting), Rúben Dias (Manchester City), Renato Veiga (Villarreal), Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain), Tomás Araújo (Benfica), Nuno Tavares (Lazio).
• Midfielders: Rúben Neves (Al Hilal), João Neves (Paris Saint-Germain), Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Bernardo Silva (Real Madrid), João Palhinha (Benfica).
• Forwards: João Félix (Al Nassr), Francisco Trincão (Al Ahli), Francisco Conceição (Juventus), Pedro Neto (Chelsea), Rafael Leão (Galatasaray), Gonçalo Ramos (AC Milan), Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr), Fábio Silva (Borussia Dortmund).

For Tavares, this list is more than a roll call. It’s proof that the work in Rome is being noticed. The next step is simple, and ruthless: turn a second chance into something permanent, or watch it disappear again.