Scottish Football Forums

The countdown is on for this years European Championship, and to get you in the mood we are going back 28 years to relive Euro '96. In the third of this four-part series, John B looks at the fortunes of Portugal and Netherlands by speaking to PortuGOAL creator Tom Kundert and Dutch football expert at Flashscore Finley Crebolder. Having been knocking on the door for a place at Euro ‘92 and USA ‘94, Portugal strolled to qualification and with the talents of Luis Figo and Rui Costa they were considered a dark horse for the tournament. However, despite winning their group with seven points from three games, they came unstuck against Czech Republic in the Quarter Finals. Meanwhile, the Dutch endured a difficult route to England, where they needed a playoff victory against Republic of Ireland to secure their place, and then they scraped into the last eight on goal difference ahead of Scotland before a penalty shootout defeat to France ended their hopes of success. Tom and Finley give a good insight into their r