PORTUGAL19:45 GREECE Euro 2004 Final, Lisbon PortugalSunday, July 4,2004Estádio da Luz


For the first time in the history of any UEFA European Championship or FIFA World Cup, that the opening game was replayed in the final. Last June 12, the opening game of the Euro 2004, Greece shocked the Portugese fans in Porto by defeating the host team 2 goals to 1. During that time, people never really expected neither team to keep their campaign going until July, people especially here in the Philippines was cheering for the usual favorites like France, Italia, England, Spain and Germany. But Greece proved to everyone that their place in final was not a fluke by beating the unbeaten Czech Republic in the Semi-finals 1-0 on a Silver goal. On the other hand Portugal, despite of being pressured to play well to win this tournament, they rose to the challenge by beating Netherlands in the Semi-finals 2-1 and thus being, the first host nation team since France in 1984 to qualify for the final of the UEFA European Championship.

The venue may be a lucky omen for Portugal, though. While Greece's only trip to Lisbon was their 1-0 victory against France in the Estádio José Alvalade, Portugal have already beaten Russia and England in the Estádio da Luz as well as seeing off Spain and the Netherlands in the home of Sporting Clube de Portugal.

Goodluck to both the teams!