Original Nike soccer shirt Portugal EURO 2004

The final round of the 2004 European Men's Football Championship was held in Portugal from 12 June to 4 July. It was the first time that Portugal organized the European Championship. Sixteen countries played in groups and finals in ten stadiums spread over eight cities.

The tournament was assigned to Portugal on October 12, 1999. This happened during a UEFA meeting in Aachen. The other candidates were Spain and the combination of Austria and Hungary. Portugal's designation came as a surprise. It was generally expected that Spain would have the best chance of organizing. The fourteen members of the Executive Committee judged differently. All candidates had the opportunity to give an explanation of half an hour earlier in the day.

Eusébio, the most famous football player who produced Portugal, has acted as ambassador for the candidacy since 1997. He was euphoric after the result. "This is fantastic," said the former attacker. "I'm just as happy as when I won the European Cup with Benfica in 1962 and scored twice in the final. We worked really hard for eighteen months for this. We had strong competition, but somehow I always have it believed in. "

Belgium did not reach the final round. It finished in third place in the group behind group winner Bulgaria and Croatia. Belgium had as many points as the Croats but ended in third place because of the mutual result. A second place had given the right to a play-off, but that was not possible.

The Netherlands was divided into a qualifying pool with the Czech Republic, Austria, Moldova and Belarus. Under the leadership of Dick Advocaat, who had previously been the national coach (1992-1995), the Netherlands started qualifying for the 2004 European Championships. 1, 6-0).