Carlos Brum, Jorge Franco and Joaquim Baptista, all businessmen, met at previous finals, but this time embarked on the adventure of their lives, spending 16,000 euros on a truck that has been their transport and home since April 25.
Their departure point was symbolic - Lisbon's Belem Tower, from where their ancestors sailed off in the 15th century to discover new worlds, including the South African shores.
"The biggest one was driving in Sudan at night. A pickup truck carrying several machine gun-toting men overtook us, all staring at us," the 38-year-old Franco said.
"A few kilometres later they blocked the road and said they were police officers in plain clothes, but we were suspicious. But then we started talking football and told them what we were doing and suddenly everything went well," he said.
"They wanted to stop us, but there's nothing like a few Cristiano Ronaldo T-shirts to unblock a bureaucratic situation," Franco quipped.
"The best was in Nampula (Mozambique) where we offered balls, clothes, toys and pens to the locals. Also in Ethiopia, where we saw children suddenly smile when we gave them soccer balls."
On arriving at Magaliesburg, the small town around an hour from Johannesburg and where the Portugal team is based, they were received "like kings". They parked their Mercedes truck in front of the players' hotel and became an instant attraction.
"People gave use food, they invited us into their houses. You could say the only thing they didn't give us was their girlfriends," Franco said.
"Now it should be easier, we've done the difficult one!" Franco said.
