In Klaksvik, the Faroe Islands were in front with a goal from Olaf Bardarson, just after three minutes, but the ‘quinas’ establishment turned the result around with goals from Fábio Silva, at 38, Gabriel Brás, at 87, and Paulo Bernardo , at 89.
Portugal topped the group and qualified for the final stage of Euro2025, which will be played in June in Slovakia, with 24 points from nine games, while Greece is second with 17 and Croatia third, with 16, but at least one game. The Faroe Islands are in fourth place with seven.
The Portuguese team finishes the qualifying stage on Tuesday, against Andorra.
Portugal qualify for the final stage of the European U21 Championship for the 10th time
Portugal’s football team qualified for the European under-21 finals for the 10th time, the third in a row and the fifth under Rui Jorge, after beating the Faroe Islands 3-1.
In the ninth round of Group G of the Euro2025 qualifiers, Portugal qualified with a win in the Faroe Islands, adding to their eighth and only win, against Greece.
This will be Portugal’s 10th appearance in the final stage of the Under-21 European Championships, half of which have been coached by Rui Jorge, and, in seven attempts, the left-back has previously only missed out on qualifying twice.
Three times in the final round of the continental championships, the ‘equipas das quinas’ is still looking for its first title, the only title it lacks at European level, a feat it could do in Slovakia in 2025.
Portugal’s debut in the finals was in 1994, after going through the first group stage and the quarter-finals, back and forth, against Poland, reaching the final stage, with only four teams competing.
Guided by Nelo Vingada, the Portuguese had 15 of the 18 under-20 world champions, in 1991, they beat Spain, Luís Figo was named the ‘MVP’ of the tournament, but they conceded against Italy (0-1 , after extra time. ), in Montpellier, with a ‘golden effort’.
In 1996, Italy eliminated Portugal in the quarterfinals, played over two games, without reaching the final stage, played in Barcelona, with only four teams.
Portugal qualified for the finals again in 2002, winning Qualifying Group 2 ahead of the Netherlands, before beating Spain in the play-offs thanks to a goal in a 2-1 win, before Hugo Leal ranked Faro (1-0) . on the way back.
With players such as Miguel, Paulo Ferreira, Hugo Viana, Tiago and Hélder Postiga, the team led by Agostinho Oliveira would not have to go beyond the group stage in the European Championship held in Switzerland.
A three-match winning streak, the first in 2004, followed in the group stage with eight wins (two over England) and just two defeats, both to Turkey, with qualification sealed in a play-off against France.
In Portugal, Djibril Cissé, who would score again and be sent off in the return leg, scored twice, after Jorge Ribeiro gave the ‘quinas’ the lead, José Romão’s men taking the game into extra time, with a goal from Cristiano Ronaldo. and Bruno Alves. On penalties, Portugal won 4-1.
In the finals, in Germany, Portugal, already without Ronaldo, who had been the main team to compete in Euro 2004, finished in third place, after losing to Italy in the semi-final and beating Sweden in the bronze award game.
Two years later, Portugal hosted the European Under-21 Championships, but still had to overcome the qualifying stage, with plenty of wins, before beating Switzerland in the play-offs, with an away game final and a home win by 2 to 1.
Even with players such as Raul Meireles, João Moutinho, Ricardo Quaresma, Hugo Almeida and Nani, Portugal was disappointed and did not progress from the group stage, with defeats to France and Serbia and just one victory over Germany.
To offset the European Under-21 Championship from the major senior tournaments, the tournament was played again the following year, with a lower ranking, with a group of three teams only (Portugal beat Latvia and Poland), before an epic comeback in play . -once – after a 4-1 win in Russia, a 3-0 win over Portugal.
Keeping Moutinho and Nani, who had, among others, Miguel Veloso, Antunes and Manuel Fernandes, Portugal fell back into the group stage, failing to qualify for the Olympic Games, losing to Italy on penalties.
With Rui Jorge on the bench alone Portugal returned to a European Championship, although the third consecutive final stage was already under the leadership of the former international, with the 2015 edition marking the return of Portugal, after a winning ranking of 100 %, with two. defeat the Netherlands in the playoffs.
With names like Bernardo Silva, Raphäel Guerreiro, William Carvalho, Rafa or João Cancelo, Portugal returned to the final, but lost again, this time to Sweden, in a penalty shootout.
Despite draws with Israel and Hungary, Portugal reached the European Under-17 Championship without needing to go through the knockout stages, but in an expanded edition to 12 teams, they were not the best runners-up and crashed out in the group.
In qualifying for the 2019 European Championships, Portugal were behind Romania in the group stage, and fell to Poland in the play-offs, even after Diogo Jota gave the Portuguese team victory (1- 0), with the 3-1. victory in Chaves ordering the removal.
In 2021, the first edition was played with 16 teams and Portugal qualified again, in a course that was only ‘tainted’ by defeat to the Netherlands, the only failure to progress in 10 games, while Slovenia watched Portugal’s third final.
A team based on the winners of the under-17 and under-19 European Championships, with Diogo Costa, Diogo Dalot, Florentino, Vitinha, Trincão, Fábio Vieira and Gonçalo Ramos, among others, reached the final, but were beaten by Germany . .
With European runner-up status, Portugal once again had a near-perfect qualification stage for the 2023 tournament, with only a draw with Iceland and two historic victories against Liechtenstein (11-0 and 9-0).
However, in the final stage, Portugal, with some names that had already reached the main team, such as João Neves, Francisco Conceição and Pedro Neto, finished the group stage behind hosts Georgia and met with Future champions England in the quarter finals, losing. with 1-0, a victory that also meant saying goodbye to a possible qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.