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.

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