Nuno Tavares’ Lazio Revival Earns Portugal Recall

Nuno Tavares was supposed to fade quietly into the background at Lazio. A difficult season under Maurizio Sarri, a new left-back in Alfonso Pedraza arriving, and a career that seemed to be drifting after Arsenal. On paper, he looked like a squad player waiting for the next loan move.

On the pitch, he tore that script up.

Gattuso’s Gamble Pays Off

Gennaro Gattuso walked in and did what many didn’t expect: he trusted Tavares. Not as a stop-gap, not as cover, but as a starter with responsibility and freedom.

The 26-year-old had taken his bruises under Sarri. That spell forced him to confront the side of his game that had long been questioned – defensive discipline. Instead of breaking him, it sharpened him. Under Gattuso, that work has started to show. The positional lapses have reduced, the duels look more assured, and when he goes, he goes with purpose.

Gattuso has given him license to drive forward all game, and Tavares has repaid him with the kind of performances that change careers.

Statement Performance Against Milan

If one match captured his resurgence, it was Lazio’s 2-2 draw with AC Milan.

On a night loaded with narrative and pressure, Tavares was arguably the standout player on the pitch. He surged up and down the left, constantly asking questions of Milan’s back line, and played a vital role in both Lazio goals, finished by Matteo Cancellieri and Tijjani Noslin.

It wasn’t just the attacking thrust. It was the intensity, the conviction, the sense that he belonged in that kind of game. Those 90 minutes in the Italian capital echoed far beyond Rome.

Portugal were watching.

Back in the Selecao

Jorge Jesus, newly in charge of Portugal, has seen enough. Tavares is back in the national team squad, his name once again alongside the elite.

He returns to a dressing room where the left-back hierarchy is clear. Nuno Mendes, now at Paris Saint-Germain and widely viewed as the best in his position in world football, remains the undisputed starter. Tavares will arrive as his understudy, a backup on paper.

But this international window is no token call-up. Portugal face four group-stage fixtures in the latest edition of the UEFA Nations League, against Wales, Norway (twice), and Denmark. With that schedule, rotation is inevitable. Minutes will come. Opportunities will appear, perhaps in tight games, perhaps in deadlocked ones. For a player rebuilding his international career, that is all he needs.

A Thin International Record, A Big Second Chance

For all his club exposure, Tavares’ international record is still modest. Three caps. All off the bench. His last appearance came against Hungary in October 2025. Then, silence. No call-ups. No cameos. Just the long wait.

This recall breaks that cycle. It is a reward for a player who refused to accept the “nearly man” label and forced his way back into the conversation through form, not reputation.

Yet, as significant as his return is, it isn’t the headline-grabber in Portugal.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s continued presence in the squad once again dominates the debate around the Selecao. At 30-plus teammates look to the future; Ronaldo remains, still central to the narrative, still a defining figure as he represents Al Nassr at club level and Portugal on the international stage.

The Squad Around Him

Jorge Jesus’ list underlines both continuity and evolution.

Diogo Costa, Rui Silva and Samuel Soares take the goalkeeping spots. At the back, Tavares joins Diogo Dalot, João Cancelo, Gonçalo Inácio, Rúben Dias, Renato Veiga, Nuno Mendes and Tomás Araújo – a blend of established names and rising defenders.

Midfield carries the familiar weight of quality: Rúben Neves, João Neves, Vitinha, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and João Palhinha. Control, creativity, and bite in equal measure.

Up front, the options are stacked. João Félix, Francisco Trincão, Francisco Conceição, Pedro Neto, Rafael Leão, Gonçalo Ramos, Cristiano Ronaldo and Fábio Silva form a forward line that can attack in waves, in different shapes, at different tempos.

In that company, Tavares is not a star attraction. He doesn’t need to be. He just needs to be what he has become at Lazio: reliable, aggressive, and ready.

From Rome to the Nations League

For Lazio, his resurgence has already paid dividends. For Portugal, the next chapter starts now.

Tavares arrives with only three caps, but with a new manager, a congested Nations League schedule and a revitalised club form behind him, the door is open wider than at any point in his international career.

The question now is simple: having fought his way back into the squad, can he make it impossible for Portugal to overlook him again?