Remembering Portugal’s 3 European Championship Heartbreaks This Century

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: June 10, 2016

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In England, the buildup to Euro 2016 has largely centred on nostalgic throwbacks to the last time they were in France’s position—hosting the tournament and with a nation willing them on.

With no international success to speak of since the World Cup in 1966, the penalty-shootout defeat to Germany at Wembley Stadium in the semi-finals of the European Championship in 1996 (as well as the defeat via the same method to the same nation at the same stage of the 1990 World Cup) is all the nation has to cling to.

They believed they were so close, so close, to ending generations of hurt, only to fall short.

But although they might like to think so, England don’t have a monopoly on heroic failure in this competition. That dubious honour, since 2000 at least, belongs to Portugal.

Because when it comes to the European Championship, the Portuguese don’t just have one story of recent heartbreak to tell. They have three.

 

Euro 2000



It began with a bang.

Humberto Coelho, the former Portugal centre-back who had been out of coaching for a decade before accepting the job after his nation’s failure to reach the 1998 World Cup, their third consecutive absence, took a talented if flawed team to Euro 2000 in Belgium and the Netherlands. Hope was high.

But 18 minutes in to their opening group game against England in Eindhoven, goals from Paul Scholes and Steve McManaman had the Three Lions 2-0 up and believing they could finally move on from Euro 96.



Portugal needed a response, and Luis Figo decided to pick his nation up from the floor.

A month before he made his controversial move from Barcelona to Real Madrid, Figo blasted his side back into it with a stunning goal four minutes after McManaman’s strike, and then Joao Pinto and Nuno Gomes struck either side of half-time to seal a remarkab...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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