Warren Gatland has underlined Wales’ desire to go one better than in three previous Rugby World Cup campaigns and reach the final.
They were semi-finalists in 1987, and then twice under Gatland – 2011 and 2019 – bowing out at that stage on each occasion.
A bonus-point victory over Pool C rivals Fiji last weekend sent Wales off and running, and if they repeat the feat against Portugal on Saturday it would further strengthen quarter-final ambitions.
Australia and Georgia still await, before a possible last-eight appointment with England or Argentina in Marseille next month.
“We have always been confident in the past about World Cups and the opportunity to get the team together for an extended period,” Wales head coach Gatland said.
“We think that we have done well in previous World Cups and would like to get to a final of a World Cup.
“I stated beforehand don’t write us off and that this team is capable of doing something special, and I still believe that.
“Part of the key themes and key message before this World Cup was to make sure we are a hard team to beat, and if we are a hard team to beat then things can happen for you.
“The first priority is to be a really tough team to beat, and if we do that and get things right and our preparation is good and we don’t pick up too many injuries, then there is no reason why we can’t continue to progress a long way into this tournament. That is the plan.”
Portugal are next up, with Gatland making 13 changes to the team that started against Fiji, retaining only wing Louis Rees-Zammit and number eight Taulupe Faletau.
The countries have met just once before – a World Cup qualifier in Lisbon 29 years ago that Wales won 102-11 – with Portugal making a first appearance in the tournament’s pool stage since 2007.
Gatland added: “From past experience with Taulupe, he is a player that gets better with more game-time.
“He hasn’t had a lot of rugby, didn’t play any warm-up games, so it’s just backing him up.
“With Louis, it’s the same sort of situation. He has been fantastic in the last five or six weeks, and I just want to keep him playing as well.
“They (Portugal) are kind of a similar version of Fiji. They play a lot of rugby, they’ve got some exciting players, they like to move the ball around, so we are kind of prepared almost in the same way we prepared against Fiji.
“I thought from a neutral last week if you were watching the games, it (Wales against Fiji) was probably the most exciting game of the weekend in terms of the rugby that was played.
“It wasn’t great being a coach sitting in the box in the last 10 minutes, I can promise you that, but hopefully we can produce another great game of rugby.”
Fiji almost wiped out an 18-point deficit during a frantic final quarter in Bordeaux, while centre Semi Radradra couldn’t gather a pass in the dying seconds that might have led to him scoring a match-winning try.
Wales, though, held on in nerve-shredding fashion to claim a victory that has installed them in many quarters as favourites to win their group.
“We were delighted with the win, delighted with the preparation, everything was going brilliantly for 60-odd minutes with the scoreline. And typical Fiji, they get a bit of a sniff and they came back at us really strong in the last period,” Gatland said.
“That game is done and dealt with, it is past us now and the focus is on Portugal. Hopefully we will do a good job on Saturday and then move on to Australia next week.
“It is a great opportunity for players on Saturday to stake a claim, and if they go out there and someone has a great performance then they are definitely in contention. That’s the way I look at it.”
'Job not done' for Springboks after All Blacks triumph, says Kolisi
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi warned his team the job is far from done despite them rallying for a thrilling victory over New Zealand in the Rugby Championship on Saturday.
The Springboks secured a 31-27 win over the All Blacks at Ellis Park, coming from behind with two late tries from Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Grant Williams.
The victory hauled South Africa onto 14 points in the Championship standings as they bid to end New Zealand's four-year stranglehold on the title, but Kolisi says there is still work to be done.
Addressing the capacity crowd in his post-match interview, Kolisi said: "We play for a lot but you people are our number one motivation.
"We appreciate you every single day. Please don't stop. When times are tough, please keep supporting us. We cannot do it without you.
"We respect the All Blacks. No matter what people say about them, when they need to turn up, they turn up. We believed in ourselves, we didn't panic, and we did what we wanted.
"They were catching us on the exit. After the first try in the second half, we picked it up. I'm really proud of the boys but the job is not done."
All Blacks captain Scott Barrett, meanwhile, was proud of his team-mates' efforts but admitted they had just fallen short of putting together a complete performance.
"Well done to the Springboks, it showed the class team they are," he said. "We weren't quite good enough. We were good for 62 minutes and it's an 80-minute game.
"There were two key moments after kick-offs where we couldn't quite get out of our half and they punished us. It was a huge effort, we're certainly proud, but it was just not quite to be.
"We'll regroup pretty quickly. Some guys have played here for the first time. It's intense and we'll have to be better next week."
South Africa host New Zealand again in Cape Town next week, while Australia go to Argentina for their round-three matchup.
Schmidt flummoxed by 'bizarre' Test as Australia downed by South Africa
Joe Schmidt said he cannot recall ever being involved in a more "bizarre" Test as his Australia side were downed 30-12 by South Africa in the Rugby Championship.
Malcolm Marx touched down twice for the Springboks in rainy Perth to make it two from two in the tournament but the Wallabies were hit by a swathe of injuries.
Front-row pair Allan Alaalatoa and Angus Bell were unable to return for the second half and scrums went uncontested after replacement prop James Slipper failed a head injury assessment.
The Wallabies even went down to 14 briefly when hooker Josh Nasser went off injured, though they did return to a full 15.
Reflecting on the unfortunate series of events, head coach Schmidt told Stan Sport: "It's probably one of the most bizarre games I've ever been involved in.
"In over 100 Test matches that I've been involved in I've never had a situation like that before. It happened so early in the game as well. When Slips got a head knock right after half-time.
"And then we were straight down. And then we played with 14 for a period of time before the officials worked out that we were still entitled to have a full pack because of the HIA.
"But I still am proud of the way that the guys fought their way through that second half. And the way that they stayed in the fight in the first half. It could have been, and I know it could have been as easy to say, but it could have been 12-11 at half-time and that would have been a massive lift for the boys."
Australia are winless through their first two matches, both against the Springboks, and will next face Argentina in La Plata on August 31.
Australia 12-30 South Africa: Springboks' late charge downs Wallabies
Malcolm Marx scored two tries in the second half to lead South Africa to a 30-12 victory over Australia in rainy Perth.
After a tight first half, the Springboks asserted their dominance to make it two wins from two in the Rugby Championship ahead of their meeting with New Zealand next week.
Noah Lolesio's penalty gave Australia the early lead, but they could not hold onto it for long as Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu equalised moments before Aphelele Fassi latched onto a long kick to touch down the first try.
Lolesio slotted in two more kicks only to miss another on the stroke of half-time that would have given the Wallabies the lead.
They were punished for it after the break as Marco van Staden and Malcolm Marx twice touched down to maintain South Africa's perfect start.
Though it was a marked improvement for the Wallabies from their opening-day performance in Brisbane, Joe Schmidt still has work to do to get them ready for Argentina next weekend.
Data Debrief: Springboks extend Australian run
South Africa have now won each of their last three Test matches against the Wallabies in Australia. The last time they recorded a longer such winning run was a four-match span from July 1971 to July 1993.
Though Australia have suffered back-to-back defeats, they showed more of a fight. Last week, it took them 75 minutes to score, compared to just three this time around.
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