England's Historical Past vs. Portugal

England v Portugal
Saturday 01 July 2006
World Cup, Quarter-Final
Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen
4pm kick off (London Time)

England's record against World Cup quarter-final opponents Portugal is an impressive one, with only three defeats in 21 previous meetings.

The series between the two countries began with a friendly in Lisbon in 1947, when a rampant England team outclassed the home side 10-0.

Legends Tommy Lawton and Stan Mortensen scored four goals each. Then it was Tom (now Sir Tom) Finney's turn to notch four as we won 5-3, again in the Portuguese capital, three years later.

There were three more friendlies after that, including one at Goodison Park in 1951 in which Bill Nicholson, later Tottenham's Double-winning manager, gave England the lead just thirty seconds into his debut as a right-half. England won that one 5-2 before a 52,000 crowd.

The first competitive matches were qualifiers for the 1962 World Cup held in Chile. After a 1-1 draw in the away leg in Lisbon, England triumphed 2-0 at Wembley five months later with Ray Pointer and John Connelly on target.

The famous Wembley meeting in the semi-finals of the 1966 World Cup was thought to be the best match, certainly the most sporting, of the whole competition.

Bobby Charlton scored with two wonderful efforts from the edge of the box and the great Eusebio converted a penalty near the end. England were in the World Cup Final!

However a few years later, both the European Championship qualifiers against the Portuguese in 1974/75 ended in a draw and the Three Lions failed to make it to the finals in Yugoslavia.

We lost to a late goal in the opening fixture of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico and went down 2-3 in the first match of Euro 2000 in Eindhoven after being 2-0 up in 18 minutes through Paul Scholes and Steve McManaman.

A pre-European Championship friendly in February 2004 saw England go ahead when Ledley King's first goal for England was cancelled out by Pauleta as the game finished in a 1-1 draw.

The sides most recent encounter saw a classic match played out in the Stadium of Light in Lisbon in the quarter-finals of the 2004 European Championship.

Michael Owen gave Sven's side the perfect start, scoring after only three minutes but, just as it seemed that the Three Lions were going through to the semis, Helder Postiga headed past David James seven minutes from time.

Portugal went ahead in the second half thanks to a great finish from Rui Costa but England took the game to penalties when Frank Lampard's smart turn and shot was too good for the Portuguese defence.

When it came to the shoot-out, David Beckham missed England's opening penalty and England were denied a place in the last four after a bare-handed Ricardo saved from Darius Vassell.

England v Portugal - England Archive: Complete Record

Played 21, Won 9, Drawn 9, Lost 3, For 45, Against 25.

From : The FA