Despite the first five meetings between Germany and Portugal being friendlies, the teams played only two more friendlies after their first competitive meeting in the 1984 Euros and none so far in the 20th century, cementing this fixture as a mainstay in major competitions. The pair has faced each other 19 times since the inaugural face-off in 1936, with each of their last eight games coming in either the European Championship or the World Cup. It has been one of the prominent fixtures in continental competitions while also producing some memorable moments on the global stage. Germany has dominated the meetings with 11 wins, but Portugal has pushed through in most clashes despite registering just three successes. Die Mannschaft are also unbeaten in the previous five clashes, with the Selecao losing all their games in this fixture since 2000.
Here are some of the memorable meetings played between Germany and Portugal this century:
Portugal 3-0 Germany (UEFA Euros 2000, Group stage)
The biggest victory for Portugal in this matchup occurred during Euro 2000, which was jointly hosted in Belgium and the Netherlands, and it was surprising since Germany were the defending champions. Die Mannschaft were out of place in the tournament with an injury-hit squad, drawing to Portugal in their competition opener and losing narrowly to England in the second group game. That forced Germany into a must-win situation against Selecao, who collected full points from their first two games, in the final group game and required Romania to match their result against England. While Romania succeeded in their path, Erich Ribbeck’s team crumbled in the milestone appearance of Lothar Matthäus, Thomas Hässler and Ulf Kirsten as they were bamboozled by Portugal’s aesthetic attacking play led by Sérgio Conceição at Rotterdam. A manager now, then 25-year-old Conceição scored a splendid hat-trick with strikes in the 36th, 54th and 70th minutes to send the holders packing and help Portugal to top the group, making it to the quarterfinals.
Germany 3-1 Portugal (FIFA World Cup 2006, Third-place match)
Six years later, the pair met again, in another major competition. The 2006 FIFA World Cup was hosted in Germany, with both the host and Portugal advancing to the semifinals. However, neither managed to reach the showpiece after getting beaten by the eventual winners, Italy and the runners-up, France, respectively. Jürgen Klinsmann’s team faced greater disappointment as the global tournament was hosted in their backyard and winning it in front of their fans would have been a wonderful achievement. Still, the nation had the chance to have a podium finish in the third-place match against Portugal and they did not lose the opportunity by winning it in style. Legendary midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger inspired with his two belting strikes on either end of an own goal by Armando Petit, forced by his free-kick, to make it 3-0. Nuno Gomes came with a late equaliser, but nothing could have stopped Germany from having something to cheer about at the end of the tournament.
Germany 3-2 Portugal (UEFA Euros 2008, Quarterfinal)
The two teams faced off again in the 2008 Euros at the quarterfinal stage, with Germany now under the guidance of aspiring coach Joachim Löw, who sought revenge for the humiliating defeat they suffered in their last meeting at this tournament eight years prior. Portugal had a talented squad with Cristiano Ronaldo on their side, but Die Mannschaft edged out with their mentality. Schweinsteiger haunted the Selecao again by giving the lead in the 22nd minute, after João Moutinho missed a glorious opportunity for Portugal early in the game, which was later doubled by star striker Miroslav Klose four minutes later from the former’s free-kick. Scolari’s men pulled one back just before half-time through Gomes to make matters interesting in the second half. Yet, the Germans remained unfazed as they got their third goal through another legend, Michael Ballack, heading home another Schweinsteiger free-kick for the eventual winner. Portugal did not step down, as they kept pushing with substitute Helder Postiga’s 87th-minute goal, making it a nervy ending. However, the comeback did not materialise as Germany found redemption in finally beating the Selecao for the first time in the Euros.
Germany 4-0 Portugal (FIFA World Cup 2014, Group stage)
The meeting that stands apart from the rest in this fixture is certainly the 2014 World Cup group stage game. Low’s Germany entered the competition, hosted in Brazil, as one of the top contenders and lived up to the tag in the first game itself, facing Portugal. This match became extremely one-sided. 2010 edition’s Golden Boot winner, Thomas Muller, offered his magic again, opening the scoring from the spot in the 12th minute. Captain Mats Hummels doubled the advantage by heading in a corner kick from Toni Kroos before Muller popped again to slot home his second on the stroke of half-time. Portugal’s defender Pepe did his team no favour by getting sent off due to a headbutt on the German earlier, as frustration from Ronaldo and co poured in. The Bayern Munich superstar added more salt to Selecao’s wound by completing his hat-trick to condemn the opposition to their worst defeat suffered in the competition. Portugal failed to escape the group stages while Germany went on to win the whole thing, becoming the first European nation to win the World Cup on South American soil.
Portugal 2-4 Germany (UEFA Euro 2020, Group stage)
The second most-played fixture in European Championship history came to the fore in the 2020 edition of the Euros, hosted in 2021 due to the pandemic. Portugal and Germany were drawn into the same group, offering the fifth meeting between the sides in the competition. With tricky Hungary and heavyweights France also in the group, winning this game was crucial. The Selecao left it late to win against Hungary in the first game and went ahead inside 15 minutes here through their icon, Ronaldo. Portugal’s deep block defence seemed to frustrate Germany as they were caught on the counter and were staring at another defeat after losing to France. However, Die Mannschaft’s waves of endless attack paid off, forcing two own goals inside five minutes from Rúben Dias and Raphaël Guerreiro as they turned the tide around. It got worse for the defending champions as Kai Havertz made a simple tap-in before wing-back Robin Gosens added the cherry on top of the cake around the hour mark. Portugal made a late hurdle to save their day with Diogo Jota pulling one back and Renato Sanches hitting the crossbar. However, the deficit was too much to recover as they lost 4-2 in a thriller. Although the result did not stop either of them from reaching the knockouts, the early Round of 16 exits made this tournament an utter failure for both.
