Greece 1-0 Portugal, 2004 final
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Another one for all the neutrals, the victory of the underdogs! This was the first time in a major international tournament where both finalists had also played in the opening game of the tournament.
Greece had begun the tournament with the odds of 80-1 to bag the trophy, and shocked everyone, first emerging out from a group consisting of Portugal, Spain and Russia and then stunning England and Netherlands to book a place in the final. Portugal had also proved their worth as they knocked out defending champions France in the quarters.
The Portuguese were clearly on top in the first half with Deco, Cristiano Ronaldo and Pauleta causing trouble for the Greeks, though Portugal’s defence too had to be alert as Greece managed to create two good chances.
In a purely passionate moment, the travelling Greece fans who were heavily outnumbered rose to their team’s rescue and created a defeaning wall of sound that the Lisbon crowd could not break-through for the remaining first half.
Portugal started the second half just as they ended their first, forcing Greece on to the backfoot. Then the unthinkable happened; Greece took the lead through Angelos Charisteas’ header from a corner just before the hour mark.
From then on, their defensive discipline that had stood steady throughout the tournament showed its iron strength, and Greece held on for the famous win.
