Portugal qualify for Euro2025 under-21s with victory in Faroe Islands

The Portuguese team ends the qualifying phase on Tuesday, against Andorra.

Portugal qualifies for the 10th time for the European Under-21 Championship finals

The Portuguese national football team has qualified for the 10th time for the European Under-21 Championship finals, the third in a row and fifth under Rui Jorge, after beating the Faroe Islands 3-1.

On the ninth matchday of Group G of the Euro2025 qualifiers, Portugal secured qualification with a win in the Faroe Islands, making it their eighth win and only one defeat, against Greece.

This will be Portugal’s 10th participation in the finals of a European Under-21 Championship, half of which have been under Rui Jorge’s command, and in seven attempts, the former left-back has only failed to qualify on two occasions.

Three times finalists in continental championships at this age, the ‘temas das quinas’ are still looking for their first title, the only one they are missing at European level, a feat they will be able to attempt in Slovakia in 2025.

Portugal’s debut in the finals came in 1994, after passing through the first group stage and the quarter-finals, played over two legs, against Poland, reaching the final stage, which was contested by only four teams.

Coached by Nelo Vingada, the Portuguese had 15 of the 18 U-20 World Cup winners. In 1991, they beat Spain, saw Luís Figo named the ‘MVP’ of the tournament, but lost to Italy (0-1, after extra time), in Montpellier, with a ‘golden goal’.

In 1996, Portugal ended up being eliminated by Italy in the quarter-finals, played over two legs, failing to reach the final stage, played in Barcelona, ​​with only four teams.

Portugal qualified for the finals again in 2002, winning Group 2 ahead of the Netherlands, before beating Spain in the play-offs thanks to an away goal in a 2-1 defeat, before Hugo Leal secured the win in Faro (1-0) in the second leg.

With players such as Miguel, Paulo Ferreira, Hugo Viana, Tiago and Hélder Postiga, Agostinho Oliveira’s team failed to progress beyond the group stage in a European Championship held in Switzerland.

Three consecutive qualifications followed, the first in 2004, in a group stage with eight wins (two against England) and only two defeats, both against Turkey, with qualification sealed in a play-off against France.

In Portugal, Djibril Cissé, who would score again and be sent off in the second leg, scored twice after Jorge Ribeiro had given the Portuguese team the lead, with José Romão’s men taking the game to extra time with goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Alves. On penalties, Portugal won 4-1.

In the finals in Germany, Portugal, now without Ronaldo, who was in the senior squad for Euro 2004, finished in third place, after losing to future champions Italy in the semi-finals and beating Sweden in the bronze medal match.

Two years later, Portugal hosted the European Under-21 Championship, but still had to get through the qualifying round, with a full complement of victories, before beating Switzerland in the play-offs, with a 1-1 away draw and a 2-1 home win.

Despite having players like Raul Meireles, João Moutinho, Ricardo Quaresma, Hugo Almeida and Nani, Portugal disappointed and did not get past the group stage, with defeats against France and Serbia and only one victory over Germany.

To separate the European Under-21 Championship from the major senior competitions, the competition was held again the following year, with a smaller qualification, with a group of just three teams (Portugal beat Latvia and Poland), before an epic comeback in the play-offs – after a 4-1 defeat in Russia, Portugal won 3-0.

With Moutinho and Nani still in the squad, and joined by Miguel Veloso, Antunes and Manuel Fernandes, Portugal were once again knocked out in the group stage, failing to qualify for the Olympic Games after losing to Italy on penalties.

Only with Rui Jorge on the bench did Portugal return to the European Championship, although their third consecutive finals defeat was under the former international’s command, with the 2015 edition marking Portugal’s return after a 100% victory in qualifying, with two wins over the Netherlands in the play-offs.

With names such as Bernardo Silva, Raphäel Guerreiro, William Carvalho, Rafa and João Cancelo, Portugal reached the final again, but lost again, this time to Sweden, on penalties.

Despite drawing with Israel and Hungary, Portugal reached the European Under-17 Championship without needing to go through the play-offs, but in an edition expanded to 12 teams, they ended up not being the best runner-up and were knocked out in the group stage.

In qualifying for the 2019 European Championship, Portugal finished behind Romania in the group stage, eventually losing to Poland in the play-offs, even after Diogo Jota had given the Portuguese team a 1-0 away win, with a 3-1 defeat in Chaves dictating elimination.

In 2021, the first edition with 16 teams was played and Portugal qualified again, in a campaign only ‘tarnished’ by the defeat in the Netherlands, the only slip-up in 10 games, with Slovenia witnessing Portugal’s third final.

A team that was based on the winners of the U-17 and U-19 European Championships, with Diogo Costa, Diogo Dalot, Florentino, Vitinha, Trincão, Fábio Vieira and Gonçalo Ramos, among others, reached the final, but ended up losing to Germany.

With the status of European runner-up, Portugal once again had a practically perfect qualifying phase for the 2023 tournament, with just a draw with Iceland and two historic victories over Liechtenstein (11-0 and 9-0).

However, in the final phase, Portugal, with some names that have already reached the main team, such as João Neves, Francisco Conceição and Pedro Neto, finished the group stage behind the host Georgia and met the future champion England in the quarter-finals, losing 1-0, a defeat that also meant goodbye to a possible qualification for the Paris2024 Olympic Games.