Gonçalo Bernardo Inácio (; born 25 August 2001) is a Portuguese professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

for

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

club

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

and the Portugal national team. Coming through

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

's youth academy, he made his first-team debut in 2020. He went on to win three

titles with the club in the 2020–21, 2023–24 and 2024–25 seasons (being named to the

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

and 2025 Teams of the Year), as well as back-to-back Taças da Liga in

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

and

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

. Having also been a Portugal youth international, Inácio made his full debut in 2023, being part of the squad at Euro 2024. He won the

2024–25 UEFA Nations League The 2024–25 UEFA Nations League is the fourth season of the UEFA Nations League tournament, an international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA. The competition is being held f ...

Early life

Inácio was born in

Almada Almada () is a city and a municipality in Portugal, located on the southern margin of the Tagus River, on the opposite side of the river from Lisbon. The two cities are connected by the 25 de Abril Bridge. The population of the municipality in 20 ...

Setúbal District The District of Setúbal ( ) is a district located in the south-west of Portugal. It is named for its capital, the city of Setúbal. Geography It is delimited by Lisbon District and Santarém District on the north, Évora District on the eas ...

and raised in

Seixal Seixal () is a Portugal, Portuguese city and municipality, located in the district of Setúbal District, Setúbal, in the metropolitan area of Lisbon region, Lisbon. Its population includes 184,269 inhabitants (2011), in an area of that includes ...

, a municipality located away. Growing up, he would play football wherever he could on the streets or in his house, and regularly attended

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

matches with his father. Despite not having a particular idol, Inácio looked to emulate

Jérémy Mathieu Jérémy Mathieu (born 29 October 1983) is a French former professional Association football, footballer who played as a centre-back or a left-back. Mathieu made 172 Ligue 1 appearances across seven seasons, split equally between FC Sochaux-Mont ...

Club career

Inácio began his career at local

, before moving to Sporting's academy. Prior to this, he had several trials with crosstown rivals Benfica, but ultimately decided not to join them when his father's car broke down on two occasions when he was being taken to training. On 13 January 2018, he signed his first professional contract at the age of 16. Inácio had his first call-up to the first team on 6 July 2020, remaining unused in a goalless draw at Moreirense in the

; he would initially struggle to be integrated, due to being reserved by nature, but managed to succeed with the help of manager

Ruben Amorim Ruben Filipe Marques Amorim (; born 27 January 1985) is a Portuguese Professional association football, professional football Manager (association football), manager, a former player and the current manager of Premier League club Manchester Unit ...

and his teammates Nuno Mendes,

Eduardo Quaresma Eduardo Filipe Quaresma Coimbra Simões (born 2 March 2002) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Primeira Liga club Sporting CP. Club career Sporting CP Early career Born in Barreiro, Setúbal District, Qu ...

and Tiago Tomás, whom he had befriended during his time in the youth sides. He made his debut in a 2–0 away win against Portimonense on 4 October, as a 62nd-minute substitute for

Zouhair Feddal Zouhair Feddal Agharbi (; born 23 December 1989) is a Moroccan professional association football, footballer who plays for the Morocco national football team. Mainly a central defender, he can also appear as a left-back or defensive midfielder. ...

. On 20 March 2021, Inácio scored his first goal, heading home from close range in the 1–0 home victory over Vitória de Guimarães. On 23 January, he provided the assist for Pedro Porro in a 1–0 defeat of

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

to help his club win the

Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual club football competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the top two tiers of Portuguese football – the ...

; his performance in the match impressed Amorim, with the player eventually surpassing

Luís Neto Luís Carlos Novo Neto (; born 26 May 1988) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Club career Born in Póvoa de Varzim, Porto District, Neto joined his hometown club Varzim SC's youth ranks at the age of ...

in the pecking order. He played 20 times in the domestic league for the eventual champions, ending a 19-year drought. Inácio was named defender of the month for December 2021. The following 29 January, his second-half header helped his team come from behind to defeat Benfica 2–1 in the league cup final. On 1 April, he agreed to an extension until 2026. On 12 November 2023, in the

Lisbon derby The Derby de Lisboa or Dérbi de Lisboa (English: Lisbon derby) is the biggest List of association football club rivalries in Europe#Portugal, football derby match in Portugal. It is played between Lisbon-based clubs S.L. Benfica, Benfica and Spo ...

against Benfica at the

Estádio da Luz The Estádio da Luz (), officially named Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica, is a multi-purpose stadium located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is used mostly for association football matches, hosting the home games of Portuguese club S.L. Benfica, Ben ...

, Inácio was sent off after receiving a second yellow card at the start of the second half; Sporting went on to lose 2–1. On 14 December, in their final

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

group game, at home to

Sturm Graz Sportklub Sturm Graz is an Austrian professional association football club, based in Graz, playing in the Austrian Football Bundesliga. The club was founded in 1909. Its colours are black and white. In its history, Sturm Graz has won the Austr ...

, he came off the bench at

half-time In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...

and scored twice in ten minutes to seal a 3–0 victory. During the season, he contributed 32 appearances and nearly 2,500 minutes as the club own its 20th league, being consequently included in the

Team of the Year Team of the Year may refer to: * BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team Award * Canadian Press Team of the Year Award *GPA Gaelic Team of the Year * IRB International Sevens Team of the Year * IRB International Team of the Year * J.League Team of ...

. Inácio made his 200th competitive appearance on 23 February 2025, in a 2–2 away draw against AVS. He totalled six goals for the campaign (three in the league), again claiming the national championship.

International career

Inácio represented

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

at under-17, under-18, under-19, under-20 and under-21 levels, for a total of 19

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

. He was called up to the senior side by Fernando Santos on 26 August 2021, for

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

qualifiers against

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

and the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

and a friendly with

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

. Four days later, however, he was dropped from the squad after picking up an injury on his left thigh. On 12 November 2021, Inácio made his under-21 debut, playing the entire 1–0 win in

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

in the 2023 UEFA European Championship

qualifying stage Qualification may refer to: Processes * Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress * Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...

. He scored his first goal in the reverse fixture four days later, in a 6–0 rout in Faro. In October 2022, Inácio was named in a preliminary 55-man squad for the

in Qatar. His first appearance took place on 23 March 2023, when he played the entire 4–0 victory over

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

in the

UEFA Euro 2024 The 2024 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2024 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2024) or simply Euro 2024, was the 17th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football champ ...

qualifiers which was the first game in charge of new manager

Roberto Martínez Roberto Martínez Montoliu (; born 13 July 1973) is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who is currently the head coach of the Portugal national team. Martínez played as a defensive midfielder and began his career at Re ...

. On 11 September, still during that stage, he scored his first and second goals in a 9–0 home defeat of

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, Portugal's biggest win in international history. Inácio was selected for the Euro 2024 finals. In the team's opening match against the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, he replaced

Diogo Dalot José Diogo Dalot Teixeira (; born 18 March 1999) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football)#Full-back, full back for club Manchester United F.C., Manchester United and the Port ...

in the 63rd minute of the 2–1 comeback win. He also featured 90 minutes of the final

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

fixture, a 2–0 loss to

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, in a quarter-final elimination against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. On 20 May 2025, Inácio was included in Martínez's squad for the upcoming UEFA Nations League Finals to be held in Germany. He started twice for the champions, including in the 5–3

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

defeat of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Style of play

Inácio has been predominantly deployed as a central defender, but can also play as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

and a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

due to his attributes. He is noted for his anticipation, composure, decisions, positioning, tackling and passing ability, including long-range passes which enables him to break down attacks and subsequently play the ball out or start offensive plays from the back, as well as for his acceleration, agility and pace.

Personal life

Inácio was a Sporting fan since he was a child, and his brother Rodrigo was born with a

disability Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be Cognitive disability, cognitive, Developmental disability, d ...

. The former considered himself a shy person who did not feel comfortable posting about himself on

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

; his favourite hobbies were playing

street football Street football may refer to: * Street football (association football) * Street football (American) * Street Football (TV series) * ''Street Football'', an arcade video game published by Bally Sente See also *Medieval football Medieval foo ...

and the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...

alone or with friends.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Portugal score listed first, score column indicates score after each Inácio goal.''

Honours

Sporting CP *

: 2020–21, 2023–24, 2024–25 *

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

: 2024–25 *

: 2020–21, 2021–22 *

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese association football, football match played since 1979 between the winners of the top-tier league (Primeira L ...

Portugal *

UEFA Nations League The UEFA Nations League is an international European football competition played by the senior men's national teams of the member associations of UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The competition was devised to minimise friendlies a ...

: 2024–25 Individual *Primeira Liga Team of the Year: 2023–24, 2024–25 * SJPF Young Player of the Month: November 2021

References

External links

Sporting official profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Inacio, Goncalo 2001 births Living people 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen Portuguese men's footballers Footballers from Almada Men's association football central defenders Primeira Liga players Sporting CP footballers Portugal men's youth international footballers Portugal men's under-21 international footballers Portugal men's international footballers UEFA Euro 2024 players UEFA Nations League–winning players