 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.