page_title: Pepe (footballer, born 1983)
section_title: Naturalization, Euro 2008 and 2010 World Cup
hierarchical_section_title: Pepe (footballer, born 1983) / International career / Naturalization, Euro 2008 and 2010 World Cup
caption_attribution_description: English: Pepe in Opalenica training camp (Poland), Euro 2012.
context_page_description: Kepler Laveran de Lima Ferreira ComM, known as Pepe, is a Brazilian-born Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a centre back for FC Porto and the Portugal national team.
  During his professional career he played for Marítimo, Porto, Real Madrid, and Beşiktaş with individual and team success with the middle two clubs. He won three La Liga titles, three UEFA Champions League titles, two Copa del Rey titles and played 334 games for Real Madrid. He has also won three Primeira Liga titles with FC Porto.
  Born and raised in Brazil, Pepe opted to play for the Portugal national team, and has earned over 100 caps since his debut in 2007. He played at three FIFA World Cups and three UEFA European Championships, and was a member of the team that won UEFA Euro 2016, also reaching the semi-final of Euro 2012.
context_section_description: Pepe never represented his native Brazil in any youth category. However, according to the player's father, in 2006, he was contacted by head coach Dunga about a possible call-up which he declined, stating that once he obtained Portuguese citizenship, he would join its national team. He became naturalized in August 2007 and, on 30 August, was named in the Portuguese squad for the first time in view of a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Poland. An injury while training for his club prevented the debut for his adopted country, which would materialize almost four months later, in Portugal's last match in the tournament against Finland on 21 November, a 0–0 home draw.
  In the tournament's final stages, Pepe played in all of the national side's matches, scoring once in a 2–0 win against Turkey on 7 June 2008. Portugal was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Germany.
  During the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, Pepe was often used as a defensive midfielder by national coach Carlos Queiroz. After his serious knee injury while playing for Real Madrid, he was eventually selected for the squad that participated in the finals in South Africa, appearing against Brazil in the group stage (0–0) and eventual champions Spain in the round of 16 (0–1 loss).
caption: Pepe with Portugal in 2012
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