Portuguese football has only participated in seven World Cups so far, and their best results are the third place in the Eusebio era in 1966 and the golden generation in 2004. After the new century, with the rise of a generation of stars and the expansion of the World Cup, Portugal has never missed the World Cup, and in recent years has won the European Championship and the European League, and the presence of C Ronaldo has improved Portugal's football status a lot.
Dutch football is one of the fans' favorite teams. So it has also been given a lot of labels: the Legion of Orange, the Uncrowned King, and so on. And Cruyff, Van Basten, Van Ni Robben, Van Persie and so on, each of them is a football master and has countless fans. They have participated in a total of ten World Cups and won three runners-up, and they have left a lot of wonderful matches in the World Cup. But there is a headache for them, that is, Portugal, a team that does not seem too strong, and the style of the game is not comparable, but they have repeatedly suffered defeats.
Portugal and the Netherlands often meet in the World Preliminary Round and the European Preliminary Round, and the Netherlands only won once in the 1991 European Preliminary Round, and the two teams did not play each other much in the official competition, but each time they lost, it was basically the Dutch team, so Portugal also had the Dutch nemesis. Let's take a look back at the history of the two teams!
The first official clash between the two teams was at Euro 2004. Hosts Portugal met the Netherlands in the semi-finals. Portugal is at the end of the golden generation, with 19-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo already playing the main force, with Figo as captain.
The Dutch squad was even stronger, with Van der Sar, Seedorff, Davis, Van Nistelrough and the hairy youngster Robben all appearing in the starting lineup. Such a luxurious lineup of the Dutch team has become the foil for the famous move of the C Ronaldo national team, C Ronaldo first scored with a header in the first half, and then quickly served a corner kick to assist Maniche's long-range shot. The Dutch team only relied on the self-swing of the Portuguese defenders in the last minute to save a set, but it did not help. When the two teams met in the first World Series, the Dutch lost.
Two years later, the 2006 Fifa World Cup round of 16. With three consecutive wins in the group stage, first-placed Portugal met the Netherlands, who qualified second from the death group. This was an ordinary match in many world cup competitions, but as the game progressed, it evolved into a "violent aesthetic". 16 yellow cards, four red cards, the referee draws cards on average once every five minutes. The number of red and yellow cards has set new records. And that's not counting some referee misjudgments, such as Robben being kicked by Valente in the penalty area. Originally a red dot package, Robben was convicted of a foul.
Shortly after the start of the game, the Dutch team received two yellow cards for consecutive fouls against C Ronaldo, and C Ronaldo also went off due to injury, which may also be the trigger for this game.
There were three major clashes in the match, with two players on each side being sent off. Deco, who was also sent off, and his Barca teammate Van Bronckhorst chatted happily on the sidelines, which became one of the classic pictures of this World Cup
The game is wonderful and the violence is more than enough. Only Portugal's Maniche scored a goal in the first half. The Netherlands fell at the feet of Portugal again, and portugal also suffered huge losses in this game, with multiple players suspended, coupled with Ronaldo's injury, so that they were blocked out of the final. Portugal's golden generation also came to an end.
。 Six years later, in the third round of the 2012 Euro 2012 group stage, Portugal and the Netherlands met again. This time things are different, the Netherlands must win portugal by more than two goals to qualify. It's tough for the Dutch team, who haven't won against Portugal in 20 years. Portugal C Ronaldo, Nani, Moutinho started. Holland's Huntelaar, Van Persie's double striker, Van der Vaart replaced Van Bommel, and Robben was also among the starters. In the 11th minute of the match, Van der Vaart scored a goal and the Dutch team saw hope. It was Van der Vaart's first goal at the European Championship. However, in the 28th minute, Pereira's scalpel was straight in the block, and C Ronaldo scored a single knife, which was Ronaldo's first goal in this European Championship. In the 74th minute, Nani's accurate cross from the right, C Ronaldo scored twice, the 2:1 ball also killed the game, the Netherlands was out of the bottom of the group, and Portugal finally reached the final four.
In the 2019 UEFA Nations League's inaugural UEFA Nations League, the Netherlands and Portugal finally reached the final. But in the end, Portugal won the game, and the national team led by C Ronaldo won another title after the European Championship, surpassing Eusebio, Costa, Figo and other predecessors.
The most puzzling thing is why the Netherlands has repeatedly suffered losses in Portugal. Before the new century, the Netherlands lost more than they won in the qualifiers of various competitions, and after coming to the new century, the main competitions still could not take advantage of the slightest advantage. Even the friendly match, the Netherlands only won once in 18 years 3:0, the rest are not good, in the Netherlands' view Portugal is not very strong, and the style of the ball is not compatible, but it has repeatedly let them eat to lose, this is also a place that many fans can't figure out, this is really a football mystery, it is estimated that to solve this mystery is much more difficult than the two sides to get twenty cards in a game! I hope the Orange Legion breaks the circle soon!