This Tuesday at 9:00 p.m., Portugal will enter the competition for Euro 2024, facing the Czech Republic. The opportunity to look back on the performances of the Seleção during the opening days of previous editions.
Observers have waited a long time for it; Portugal’s first encounter at Euro 2024 is finally about to happen. No less than four days after the start of the competition, the Portuguese national team will indeed play its first match this Tuesday evening, at 9:00 p.m., against the Czech selection. A first day which has not always smiled on the Portuguese in previous editions.
A very mixed result for Portugal
If the evening’s opponent seems affordable, Portugal has, in the past, shown all its difficulties in getting into the Euro on the right foot. Historically, the Portuguese team has only won three of the eight opening matches played so far, which appears to be an abnormally low record for a nation of this caliber.
Portugal’s first victory on an opening day of the Euro dates back to the 2000 edition, which saw the Seleção win against England. David Beckham and others Paul Scholes (3-2). Before that, the Portuguese had had two draws: in 1984 against West Germany (0-0), then in 1996, against Denmark (1-1).
Subsequently, the Portuguese national team only managed to win its first duel on two small occasions. This was particularly the case in 2008, following a victory against Turkey (2-0), thanks to goals from Pepe and of Raul Meireles. We then had to wait thirteen years and the latest edition to see the Seleção regain victory on the first day of the Euro. Indeed, the Seleção dominated Hungary at Euro 2020, winning with a stunning score to start the competition (3-0).
A little superstition?
Generally complicated starts, which do not always give reliable indications regarding the sequence of events. In 2016, the year of the one and only Portuguese coronation in the competition, the Seleção began its Euro with a disappointing draw against Iceland (1-1), before completing a heroic journey to the top of the European football. Twelve years earlier, when Portugal would host the competition for the first time in its history, a defeat against Greece on the opening day had launched the Portuguese journey, ending with a tragic loss in 2004.
If it is obviously preferable to get off to a good start in the competition with a victory over the Czech Republic this Tuesday, history has proven that it is in no way obligatory to allow a good run in this very special tournament. . Presenting a mixed record of three victories, three draws and two defeats in the first eight Euros in its history, Portugal will still be keen to rectify the situation this Tuesday, at the Red Bull Arena in Leizpig.
Photo credit: IconSport
Alexandre Ribeiro launched the Trivela.fr site in 2019 and today runs it alongside his colleagues. Passionate about Portuguese football as a whole, and in particular the Portuguese national team, it is with all his energy and involvement that he brings this media to life on a daily basis.
