In these trying times, what better way to lift the mood of a nation than replaying one of its great sporting moments. It is no exaggeration to say that description perfectly fits Portugal’s exhilarating comeback victory against England in a 5-goal thriller at the 2000 European Championship, held in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Last night, as the country braces itself to bear the worst of the Coronavirus pandemic, the FPF’s official TV channel reran the match in its entirety, allowing Portugal’s sports fans to delight in a truly sublime performance by a team in which the famed “Golden Generation” was at its peak. PortuGOAL shared the excitement of re-watching the match on Twitter, and the reaction worldwide soon made it apparent that this is a game that truly resonates with Seleção fans all over the world.

In an extract from The Thirteenth Chapter – From Eusébio to Ronaldo – Portugal’s 50-year journey from football minnows to European Champions, Tom Kundert recounts the famous encounter in Eindhoven. 

It was never definite that we could talk to Rui Jordão, but our hopes were high that he would be seduced by the subject matter. Through a labyrinth of protective contacts, we had finally worked our way carefully to the point of being able to talk to the great man directly, but, far from that being the beginning of the plain sailing, it proved to be the beginning of the end. We never did get to interview Jordão, despite friendly conversations in which he graciously thanked us for our interest in him and expressed a willingness to meet up.

Our book about Portugal’s trials and tribulations across 13 finals tournaments, the Thirteenth Chapter, was the worse for not being able to include his thoughts. For many of a certain generation, Rui Jordão was a fixed reference point in the youthful process of growing to love football, but we were not to know at the time that football was no longer the main passion of his life. 

How much difference can one man make to a team? The answer depends, of course, on the man, but it can be significant. You see it in the Premier League with Harry Kane, whose presence elevates Tottenham to a team that can genuinely beat anyone. In the early years of the millennium the same could be said for Thierry Henry’s contribution at Arsenal.

But surely the most cited example is the man every football fan sees whenever they pick up their copy of FIFA 19. With Cristiano Ronaldo at the helm, the Unibet sportsbook shows Juventus as 1/3 on to win Serie A. Whenever there is absence or injury so much as rumoured, those odds start to slip. A decade ago, it was the same story at Manchester United. Ronaldo led the charge in United’s three title winning seasons in a way that has never seen before or since. When Ronaldo left the Premier League side, so did the trophies. 

The first ever FIFA U20 World Cup (then called the FIFA World Youth Championship) took place in 1977. Two years later Portugal made their debut in the tournament, and one decade later they would win two successive titles under the expert guidance of coach Carlos Queiroz together with the sumptuous talent of the famed “golden generation”.

The competitions staged in the far-off host countries of Qatar and Colombia also hold happy memories for the U20 national team, however, Portugal have had more than their fair share of heartbreaks. The Seleção were eliminated in the 94^th minute against Argentina in the 1979 quarter-finals and in the 90^th minute against Brazil in the 1995 semi-finals and Ghana scored an 85^th minute winner to eliminate Portugal in 2013 in the round of 16. That's not to mention three eliminations in penalty shootouts. 

PortuGOAL takes you through the roller-coaster ride of all of Portugal’s campaigns at the FIFA U20 World Cup, highlighting the players who went on to have long and distinguished careers for club and country and those who failed to fulfil their early potential.