The Euros has been a competition to pit the best European football rivalries more often than ever. Be it Spain taking on Italy or England rubbing shoulders with Germany. One such growing rivalry in the competition has been between France and Portugal. Apart from the group stage meeting in the 2020 edition, the team has crossed roads in knockout rounds making the encounter full of stakes. The winning team has gone on to lift the Euro title each time. France gathered more wins in the clash but Portugal proved themselves tricky to compete against.
Here are all the Euro Championship meetings between France and Portugal:
France 3-2 Portugal - Euro 1984 Semi-final (23 June 1984)
The first meeting between the pair was a six-goal thriller, coming in the semifinal stage of Euro 1984. The game was one of the best matches to have been played in the competition history.
Host France took the lead in the game at Marseille with Jean-François Domergue scoring an audacious free-kick with Portugal’s captain Manuel Bento rooted to his spot. However, Les Bleus failed to add more to their lead allowing the Selecao to score the equaliser through Rui Jordão and forcing extra-time. The striker then put Portugal into the lead in the 98th minute putting France on the brink of elimination. ‘It's not over till it is over’ might be the phrase that worked inside the home team’s head as they came out all guns blazing in the second half of extra-time. Domergue got his second in the 114th minute of the match and with time running out, Michel Platini smashed in from close range for the dramatic winner. France went on to lift the trophy that year defeating another Iberian nation in Spain in front of the home support.
France 2-1 Portugal - Euro 2000 Semi-final (28 June 2000)
The second-ever clash also came in the semifinal stage 15 years later with France again outwitting Portugal and eventually winning the tournament. The game was decided by the now-defunct ‘Golden Goal’ rule with Zinedine Zidane’s 117th-minute penalty completing the comeback for Les Bleus. Nuno Gomes scored a spectacular opener in the 19th minute on the turn to catch the French side containing legends like Patrick Vieira, Robert Pires, Marcel Desailly etc by surprise. Recovering from the jolt, the response came early in the second half when a young Thierry Henry slotted in the equaliser. Luís Figo and co failed to climb into the match and were eliminated. Meanwhile, France lifted their second title defeating Italy in the same fashion in Sweden.
Portugal 1-0 France - Euro 2016 Final (10 July 2016)
The 2000 title triumph was captained by Didier Deschamps who entered the showpiece again in 2016 as the boss of the France men’s national team this time. However, he failed to repeat his success as a player in the competition with his present golden generation as Portugal became the unlikely champions beating all odds. Their first Euro win over the French, who were favourites, came at their den in the grand final and it was incredible considering marksman Cristiano Ronaldo went off injured early in the match. The footballing star became a mentor from the touchline as his side grabbed the win in extra time with a long ranger from substitute Eder. Goalkeeper Rui Patrício also had the best game of his life making seven crucial saves to decide the outcome. Hence, Portugal's first Euro triumph was remarkable in all senses.
Portugal 2-2 France - Euro 2020 Group Stage (23 June 2021)
Four years later, the two collided again and produced another unforgettable game. Drawn into a ‘group of death’ with Germany and tricky Hungary, France faced Portugal in the final group game with the pair fighting to top it with the knockout qualification seemingly secured. The match saw four goals scored with two each of which three were penalties. Ronaldo scored a brace from the spot, his first-ever strike against the opposition, while Karim Benzema did the same for his side. The 2-2 result is not what France was looking for to get the revenge of the 2016 final defeat but they made it to the next round as the group winners. While, Portugal advanced as the best third-place team, beaten by runners-up Germany on head-to-head. However, both were eliminated from the last-16 stage.
