Euro 2024 analysis: Portugal impress as they push to enter most elite of clubs in European football

Dylan O’Connell reports from Dortmund

It’s July 10^th 2016 and the nation of Portugal has ground to a half. 

The country is playing in its second ever senior international final, against host-nation  France in their own backyard at the European Championship. 

Fernando Santos’ team are massive underdogs. They won just once inside 90 minutes on their road to the Stade de France, and that was a fairly comfortable victory over surprise package Wales in the semi-finals at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais.   

The players who made a country dream, are a rag-tag group led by one of the most famous people on the planet. He is the leader of a squad made up of established stars and journeymen, like Swansea City’s Eder.

By the end of the night, the forward born in Guinea-Bissau would become internationally known and a symbol of modern Portugal. His goal, scored in extra-time, ended decades of hurt and secured a major international trophy for one of the most football obsessed nations on the planet. 

Cristiano Ronaldo lifted the  Henri Delaunay Trophy, and three years later he added the UEFA Nations League to his list of honours at international level. 

Finally Portugal were delivering, or so it looked on paper. 

The country failed to beat Chile in the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup and they were knocked out of the World Cup in Russia by an aging Uruguay in the Round of 16. 

Belgium stopped their title defence at the 2020 European Championship, and Morocco got the better them in the quarter finals of the 2022 World Cup, a result which meant an African team finally qualified for the competition’s semi-finals. 

For all the joy in Paris, there was heartbreak and misery. The question is the same as it was before that night in the France capital; can Portugal win and become a footballing nation like Italy, Germany, or Spain?

The feeling can be traced right back to Eusébio shooting the team to the semi-finals of the 1966 World Cup, and it took on a life of its own during the emergence of a ‘golden generation’ during the 1990s. They won the European Under-16 Championship and the FIFA World Youth Championship, and excitement grew each summer as the names Rui Costa, Jorge Costa, and Luís Figo represented their country as senior internationals. 

It looked like the breakthrough was going to happen on home soil in 2004. Portugal were favourites and they wore the tag with pride during victories over Spain, England, and the Netherlands, and they just had to beat Greece to get the job done. 

Instead, they were ground down and beaten 1-0 by a team known for defending and scoring from set-pieces. 

Portugal ground to a halt, and the collective mood around the country was summed up by Cristiano Ronaldo crying on the pitch at the Estádio da Luz after the full-time whistle. 

The veterans of 2004 made amends by doing to France what was done to them in Lisbon. Still, there was no push for a second major title.

What followed was more of the same, despite success in the UEFA Nations League.

The feeling now is similar to the vibe around the national team in the latter half of the 20^th century – Portugal hasn’t won enough and their ‘generational talents’ haven’t fully realised their abilities in crunch moments in major international tournaments, beyond one night in Paris. 

Even at that, the narrative since then is how France lost instead of how Portugal won. 

The story is controlled by the loser on this occasion, and how the winners only beat one team inside 90 minutes. 

People are saying Germany  rather that Portugal are one of the favourites, alongside 2022 World Cup finalists France, the host nation, and a resurgent Spain. Should the team managed by Roberto Martinez get this over the line, a country’s sense of self will be transformed and a loose end will be tied up. 

Euro 2024 Report: Türkiye 0 – 3 Portugal - https://t.co/94rjArr8tjhttps://t.co/hspFPd3K9C

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