GERMANY v PORTUGAL MATCH PRESS KIT D. Afonso Henriques, Guimaraes Sunday, 28 May 2006 - 19:45 local time Final tournament - Group phase Group A - Matchday 5 Familiar foes at this level, Portugal and Germany will renew their rivalry at the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques in Guimaraes in the final round of matches in UEFA European Under-21 Championship Group A. After two defeats, the host nation know they must win and then hope France do the same against Serbia and Montenegro to have any chance of reaching the semi-finals. Germany will also have an eye on the result from Braga, having picked up three points from their two games. • The teams first met in the 1986 competition having been drawn together in Group 2 in the qualifying round. Both teams won their home matches with the Portuguese triumphing 2-1 against then West Germany in Lisbon before the Germans triumphed 2-0 in the return, but neither side progressed beyond that initial hurdle. • In 1998 the teams were drawn together again at the same stage, and this time Germany had the upper hand. Kai Michalke's double earned a 2-1 away victory and the return in Germany finished 1-1, with the Germans ultimately finishing top of Group 9 with the eliminated Portuguese third. Germany subsequently lost to eventual runners-up Greece in the quarter-finals. • Their paths crossed again in the 2004 finals with host nation Germany paired with Portugal in Group B. This time it was the Iberian country who emerged victorious at the Bruchwegstadion in Mainz with Hugo Almeida and Lourenço – both part of the U21 squad in these finals – getting the goals with Bastian Schweinsteiger replying for Germany. • At youth level the two countries met twice in 2004, with Germany's Michael Delura scoring the only goal in the European U19 Championship Elite round – Germany went on to reach the finals in Switzerland – although Portugal enjoyed the better of their U17 fixture the same season, defeating the Germans 2-0 in the qualifying round on the way to finishing third overall in the competition. The boot was on the other foot in the U17s in 2005/06, however, Germany inflicting a 2-0 qualifying-round defeat on the Portuguese and eventually finishing fourth at the final tournament while Portugal were unable to progress beyond the Elite round. • The countries' senior sides have met twice in the UEFA European Championship, playing out a goalless draw in the first round of Group 2 matches in the 1984 finals in France. West Germany, then the holders, bowed out after the group stage while Portugal were eventually overcome by the French, who went on to take the trophy, in the semi-finals. Sixteen years later the Portuguese inflicted a 3-0 defeat on the Germans in the final round of fixtures in Group A at UEFA EURO 2000™ with Sérgio Conçeicão scoring a hat-trick. That left the Germans bottom of the section while Portugal were again undone by France in the last four. Team facts Germany The past 30 years have seen Germany enjoy success at all levels. Two UEFA European Championships, a FIFA World Cup and four more continental honours at U19 and U17 levels have been gained but U21 glory has so far eluded them. East Germany and West Germany finished runners-up in the first three instalments - the former on two occasions, the latter once - and although as a unified nation they have not progressed beyond the last eight, hopes are high that the current crop of youngsters can end a long wait for U21 silverware in Portugal. Last Updated 28.5.2006 17:08:41CET uefa.com 1 GERMANY v PORTUGAL MATCH PRESS KIT Qualifying Germany came through a tough qualifying group with flying colours, edging out England, neighbours Austria and the dangerous Poles. Spearheaded by the excellent Hanke, the side picked up seven wins and three draws to set up a play-off against the Czech Republic, and their unbeaten qualifying record never looked in danger after they won the first leg 2-0 in Uherske Hradis. Rafael set them on course for that victory, and repeated the feat in Leverkusen in the return as Germany sealed their place in the finals with a 3-0 aggregate victory. Team guide Hanke will play no part in Portugal, however, having been poached by Jürgen Klinsmann and his FIFA World Cup squad. BV Borussia Dortmund striker David Odonkor has also been included in the senior party so lesser known trio Patrick Helmes, Stefan Kiessling and Ioannis Masmanidis are all in contention to join Rafael in attack. Eilts has been boosted by the presence of Werder Bremen's Christian Schulz and 1. FC Köln defender Lukas Sinkiewicz after their surprising omission form the senior squad and their experience could prove vital in an inexperienced party. Uncapped at this level, Christian Eigler is perhaps chief among them after Piotr Trochowski's late withdrawal with a thigh injury. The SpVgg Greuther Fürth forward has a wealth of 2. Bundesliga experience to draw on, however, and having finished the season as top scorer with 18 goals, he could be one to watch. Indeed, Eilts has stressed a team ethic throughout and believes any absences will provide others with an opportunity to come to the fore. "I am very reluctant to focus on individual players as we are strong in every department," he said. "We are very athletic, we have a very good tactical understanding and the team is made up of very capable individuals." UEFA European Under-21 Championship record: 1982**; quarter-finals 1992, 1996, 1998. **as West Germany. Portugal So strong at youth level, Portugal's name is yet to adorn the UEFA Under-21 European Championship trophy, but the time could be ripe in 2006. Tournament hosts, Agostinho Oliveira's side blazed a trail in qualifying and in Hugo Almeida they have one of Europe's most potent strikers at this level. Qualifying The possibility of the hosts not qualifying for the finals never looked likely as Portugal left the likes of Russia and Slovakia standing in the qualifying group stage. The side racked up 29 goals in their ten games, conceding a miserly three, as they confirmed themselves as section winners with three games to spare. They nevertheless went on to beat Luxembourg, Russia and Latvia to maintain their 100 per cent record, but that was ended when they were held by Switzerland in the first leg of their play-off in Zurich after they fell behind early on. The same happened in the return match but second-half goals from Silvestre Varela and Hugo Almeida saw them through, 3-2 on aggregate. Team guide The play-off strike was Hugo Almeida's eighth in qualifying, and the talismanic FC Porto forward is likely to carry the weight of a nation's expectations in the finals as they seek to better their second-placed finish in 1994. Much depends on his continued rapport with club-mate Ricardo Quaresma, the provider of so many Portuguese goals and a player whose crossing ability and willingness to run at opponents cause a constant menace to opposing defences. Voted the Portuguese Liga's Player of the Season, Quaresma was a surprising omission from the country's FIFA World Cup squad but their loss promises to be Oliveira's gain. The coach favours a 4-3-3 formation, with Bolton Wanderers FC's forward Ricardo Vaz Té and Sporting Clube de Portugal's Varela vying for a place alongside the established Porto front pair. Yet another Porto player, Raul Meireles, the precocious João Moutinho of Sporting and SL Benfica's Manuel Fernandes are obvious choices in midfield, after Hugo Viana received a senior call-up. Last Updated 28.5.2006 17:08:41CET uefa.com 2 GERMANY v PORTUGAL MATCH PRESS KIT Portugal have always produced attacking U21 sides but their downfall has frequently been their defence. Their 2004 campaign was ended when they shipped three goals in the semi-finals against Italy, but they have discovered a new defensive steel this time around, led by the fine goalkeeping of Bruno Vale, supported by the likes of Nélson, Zé Castro and Rolando. Records for single match finals (since 1992-94 competition) 1992-94 20.04.1994 - Italy 1-0 Portugal (After extra time) (Stade La Mosson, Montpellier, France - 6,263 - Serge Muhmenthaler (SUI)) 1994-96 31.05.1996 - Italy 1-1 Spain (After extra time, Italy win 5-4 on penalties) (Estadio Olímpico de Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain - 35,500 - Günter Benkö (AUT)) 1996-98 31.05.1998 - Greece 0-1 Spain (Ghencea stadium, Bucharest, Romania - 7,000 - L'uboš Michel' (SVK)) 1998-2000 04.06.2000 - Czech Republic 1-2 Italy (Tehelné Pole stadium, Bratislava, Slovakia - 9,170 - Karl-Erik Nilsson (SWE)) 2000-02 28.05.2002 - France 0-0 Czech Republic (After extra time, Czech Republic win 3-1 on penalties) (St. Jakob-Park, Basle, Switzerland - 20,400 - Tom Henning Øvrebø (NOR)) 2002-04 08.06.2004 - Italy 3-0 Serbia and Montenegro (Ruhrstadion, Bochum, Germany - 20,092 - Luis Medina (ESP)) 6: Finals Six single match finals (from a total of 14) have taken place in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship since the finals format changed for the 1992-94 competition. To date, Italy have won all four finals in which they have appeared with Spain and the Czech Republic having won the other two. Other teams to have been involved in the six finals are France, Greece, and Serbia and Montenegro. 5: Red cards To date, five red cards have been issued in UEFA European Under-21 Championship single match finals.