Last summer's success in the European championship was a defining moment in the history of Portuguese football, and having been crowned continental champions for the first time, Fernando Santos' side will be aiming for another triumph at the Confederations Cup.
While world champions Germany have sent a youthful squad to Russia for the tournament, Portugal are bringing their first choice group of players including captain Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Real Madrid forward shone in the final stages of the season for his club both domestically and in the Champions League and will know that another good showing at a summer tournament will further tighten his grasp on this year's Ballon d'Or.
Along with Ronaldo the likes of new AC Milan star Andre Silva, Barcelona's Andre Gomes, and Monaco's Joao Moutinho are all included and the squad looks more than strong enough to compete for the title.
Certainly, the Portuguese will feel they should win Group A and they are the clear favorites to do so, with bet365 pricing them at 9/10 (1.90) .
Also bringing a strong sqaud to the tournament are Mexico with 12 members of their squad based in Europe including Real Sociedad's Carlos Vela, with the former Arsenal striker now back in the international setup.
Indeed, there is a good blend of youth and experience in the squad selected by Juan Carlos Osorio and their starting XI is likely to be made up almost exclusively by players from the top European leagues.
Goal
The CONCACAF champions are offered at 12/5 (3.40) to top Group A, and in truth it seems to be between them and Portugal. Hosts Russia, meanwhile, seem unlikely to be able to compete with their more talented opponents although they are just fractionally behind Mexico in the betting at 13/5 (3.60) .
Russia's sqaud is made up entirely of home based players in stark contrast to that of New Zealand with the All Whites drawing on players from places as diverse as Borneo, Ipswich, San Jose and Pretoria.
The champions of Oceania are priced at 100/1 (101.00) to win the group, although realistically they will be hoping to just try and avoid three heavy defeats from their three group games.
