MATCH 31 REVIEW : GREEKS UPSET THE ODDS AGAIN

For a tournament in which the big names have so often failed to deliver what they promised, it was fitting that UEFA EURO 2004™ was ultimately won by rank outsiders. Greece's incredible achievement was a triumph for teamwork and camaraderie, and after another never-say-die performance in the final no one can begrudge them their finest hour.

Sizeable support
Their fans at the Estádio de Luz came to their team's support when they most needed them, midway through the first half when Portugal were threatening to take the game away from them, before Angelos Charisteas' header early in the second half crowned a stunningly successful Greek campaign. While not a single Greek supporter vacated the stadium before Theo Zagorakis had lifted the Henri Delaunay trophy, many Portuguese players and spectators also lingered to pay their respects which was good to see.

Dominant Dellas
In the end it never quite happened for the hosts: Luís Figo, so influential in the semi-final, seemed jaded after those efforts and hard though the likes of Deco and Cristiano Ronaldo tried, they did not have the weapons they needed to break down a Greek defence in which Traianos Dellas was once again an imposing figure.

Famous first
At 65, Otto Rehhagel became the oldest man to coach a side to victory in these championships, and the first to do so as a foreigner. Whether Rehhagel will be able to resist the overtures of his native Germany remains to be seen, but what is sure is that he will be revered in Greece for as long as he chooses to remain.

'Football history'
"It was an unusual achievement for Greek football and especially for European football," Rehhagel said. "The team played great football. We took advantage of our chances. The opponent was technically better than us but we took advantage of our chances. We should have made it 2-0. The Greeks made football history today. It's a sensation."

Click here for full review

©uefa.com 1998-2004. All rights reserved.

MATCH 31 RESULT : PORTUGAL 0 GREECE 1

57' Charisteas

Click here for the match statistics

MATCH 31 REPORT : GREECE KINGS OF EUROPE

Greece pulled off arguably the biggest shock at a major football championship as a goal by Angelos Charisteas gave them victory at UEFA EURO 2004™. Having begun the tournament as 80-1 outsiders, the achievement of Otto Rehhagel's team of European journeymen is hard to put into perspective, but once again the belief they have shown in themselves throughout this amazing adventure was too strong for their opponents.

Portuguese despair
Portugal thus became the first host nation to lose a UEFA European Championship final and they will have to wait at least another two years to claim their first senior title. For the likes of Luís Figo and Rui Costa it was an agonising end to glittering international careers, but the Portuguese players can still look back with pride on the joy they have provided for their supporters over the past three weeks.

Pauleta preference
Portugal were unchanged from the team that beat the Netherlands in the semi-finals, the goal-poacher Pauleta preferred to the in-form Nuno Gomes in attack, while Greece made just one change, Stelios Giannakopoulos replacing the suspended Georgios Karagounis in midfield.

Entertaining encounter
Perhaps contrary to some expectations, the game was an attractive spectacle from the start, with both sides playing fluently. Portugal's playmaker Deco was involved twice early on, combining with Pauleta and then Cristiano Ronaldo, but first Greece's captain Theo Zagorakis and then Traianos Dellas - man of the match in the semi-final win against the Czech Republic - made timely interceptions.

Click here for full report

©uefa.com 1998-2004. All rights reserved.

MATCH 31 (FINAL) PREDICTION : PORTUGAL VS GREECE

Click the above link for Analysis & Prediction

MATCH 31 PREVIEW : STAGE SET FOR EUROPE'S BEST

Karagounis suspended
Their chances of victory against Portugal will rest, as they did against the Czech Republic and France, on tight discipline and making the most of their chances. But the loss of Georgios Karagounis through suspension will be a handicap – the other game the talismanic FC Internazionale midfield player missed was against Russia, Greece's only defeat in the competition.

Kapsis doubt
Rehhagel will be anxious not to lose another key player in central defender Mihalis Kapsis who suffered a knee problem in training. Still, the coach promised: "Our players will be passionate and very motivated. We have nothing to lose."

Knot of emotion
Portugal, meanwhile - the whole country - is a tangled knot of emotion right now and it will surely be one of Luiz Felipe Scolari's biggest tests as a coach to unravel it, in time to make sure the hosts do not slip on the same banana skin as the holders. Portugal, too, are anxious to herald a new dawn but victory is needed to ensure that the purpose and direction the Brazilian Scolari has added to their innate talent are not questioned again.

Portugal: Ricardo; Miguel, Ricardo Carvalho, Jorge Andrade, Nuno Valente; Costinha; Luís Figo, Deco, Maniche, Ronaldo; Pauleta.

Greece (probable): Nikopolidis; Seitaridis, Dellas, Kapsis, Fyssas; Katsouranis, Giannakopoulos, Zagorakis, Basinas; Charisteas, Vryzas.

Click here for full preview

©uefa.com 1998-2004. All rights reserved.

MATCH 31 BACKGROUND : TOURNAMENT COMES FULL CIRCLE

As it was in the beginning, so it shall be at the end. For the first time in any UEFA European Championship or FIFA World Cup, the opening game is being replayed in the final.

No fluke
Back on 12 June in Porto, Greece shocked hosts Portugal 2-1. At the time neither were expected to keep their campaigns going into July, but Greece have proved the victory for not a fluke, and Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari rang the changes and has not looked back since.

Opening meetings
Greece's win was only their third in eleven meetings with Portugal, victor of four occasions, and their first outside Athens - though their competitive record against these opponents is excellent. Indeed, Greece won their first meeting, in December 1968, prevailing 4-2 in an Athens FIFA World Cup qualifier against a side containing six of the players that lost to England in the 1966 semi-finals. The return was drawn 1-1 and Romania pipped both nations to the final.

Further fixtures
They did not meet again until the 1980s, when they played three friendlies. Portugal won 2-1 in Athens in both 1982 and 1989, with Greece taking a 1-1 draw from Lisbon in 1987. EURO '92 qualifying matched the sides, and again the Greeks struck first with a 3-2 victory in Athens before losing 1-0 in Lisbon, though holders the Netherlands won the group.

Click here for full match background

©uefa.com 1998-2004. All rights reserved.

MATCH 30 REVIEW : GREECE REVEL IN FAMOUS WIN

The European football world was turned on its head in stunning fashion at the Estádio do Dragão in Porto. Unheralded Greece, seen by many as makeweights at UEFA EURO 2004™, find themselves in Sunday's final against hosts Portugal after a dramatic silver-goal win that destroyed the hopes of the much-fancied Czech Republic.

Extra-time drama
In an unbelievable finale, substitute Vassilios Tsiartis swung over a corner in injury time at the end of the first period of extra time and big defender Traianos Dellas roared in at the near post to steer in a header which sent Greece's raucous fans, and an entire country, into total ecstasy.

Prize scalps
The unsung Greeks continue to pick up some of the choice football scalps in an amazing journey – first Portugal in the opening match, then holders France in the quarter-finals, and now the Czechs, seen by some as favourites for the title.

Greek grind
The victory was never stolen. Greece, astutely led by veteran German coach Otto Rehhagel, have an efficient, massively industrious team of character and grit that works hard for each other, refuses to buckle under pressure, and is able to grind out results against the odds.

Click here for full review

©uefa.com 1998-2004. All rights reserved.