Les Bleus are unbeaten in last 10 meetings against A Selecao
Sunday 10 July 2016 13:12, UK
After Denmark beat Germany in 1992 and Greece beat Portugal in Lisbon in 2004, the Portuguese now dream of upsetting hosts France in their national stadium on Sunday.
But they will have to end a miserable run of results dating back 41 years, which was the last time they recorded a win against Les Bleus.
It came in March 1975 - a 2-0 friendly victory - and since then, the Portuguese have suffered 10 straight losses against France.
Over four decades have passed but Cristiano Ronaldo and his team-mates will walk out at the Stade de France in Paris with real hope of winning against the odds on Sunday.
The omens don't make happy reading for Portugal, with the French enjoying their best current run against any team after their 13 consecutive wins against Luxembourg.
In fact, Les Bleus are unbeaten in their last 18 major tournament games played on home soil, winning 16 and drawing two.
Their last defeat dates back to July 1960 in the inaugural European Championships against Czechoslovakia, ending in a 2-0 defeat.
In what will be the fourth meeting between the sides in a major tournament, the French have won the previous three. The first of them will live long in the memory...
It came in the 1984 European Championship semi-finals and it turned out to be a game of unrelenting drama.
Michel Platini was at the peak of his powers for a French team which boasted more classy midfielders in the shape of Luis Fernandez, Alain Giresse and Jean Tigana - known as the carre magique or 'magic square'.
Two Platini hat-tricks helped France breeze through their group with three wins from three to set up a contest with Portugal, who were playing in their first major tournament.
A Selecao were given no hope against the hosts playing in the cauldron of the Stade Velodrome in Marseille containing colour, noise, flares, the blaring of horns and thousands of Tricolore flags.
The night had more drama than anyone watching could have possibly have hoped for.
France took 24 minutes to break down the Portuguese resistance when they were awarded a free-kick in a central position just outside the area. To everybody's surprise, Platini stood away as left-back Jean-Francois Domergue thumped the ball past goalkeeper Manuel Bento.
Platini took command of the match and had the French playing some scintillating football at times, gliding through the Portuguese backline, but the second goal just wouldn't come, no matter how hard they tried.
Fernandez and Giresse had opportunities to double their advantage, while an inspired Bento between the posts kept the home side at bay.
Then Les Bleus were hit with the ultimate sucker punch as Fernando Chalana's cross from the left was met by Rui Jordao. His header arced over Joel Bats into the far corner.
The match entered extra-time, and seven minutes in, it looked like Jordao might knock the French out with the strangest of goals. His mis-hit volley thudded into the ground and looped up and over a stranded Bats.
With the unthinkable about to happen, the Stade Velodrome crowd urged their team forward with time running out. Giresse, Yvon Le Roux and then Platini tried to force the ball home in a packed penalty box. The ball fell kindly into the path of Domergue and he celebrated his 27th birthday in style by scrambling in the equaliser.
France were not going to settle for a penalty shoot-out and surged forward one last time with the crowd in delirium by this point.
Tigana ran directly through the heart of the Portuguese defence, then changed direction towards the right-hand side of the area. With little space ahead of him, he pulled the ball back to Platini, standing in the six-yard box, looking calm and composed. The Juventus lynchpin took one touch to control the ball, and then a second to drive it high into the back of the net. The stadium exploded to a cacophony of noise.
France had made the final, which they went on to win thanks to another Platini-inspired 2-0 victory against Spain, but the semi-final will go down in the annals of footballing history as one of the best games of all time.
The second meeting at major finals arrived at Euro 2000 and once again, it turned out to be a dramatic semi-final which was decided by a Zinedine Zidane golden goal penalty.
Nuno Gomes put Portugal ahead in the first half at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels thanks to a stunning strike on the turn, before Thierry Henry's second-half equaliser.
In a contest with little to choose between the two sides and the game looking like it was heading to penalties, Sylvain Wiltord's goalbound effort from a tight angle forced Abel Xavier to handle the ball.
Goalscorer Gomes was sent off in the aftermath with the decision incensing Portugal's players, but Zidane stayed calm to confidently stroke the spot-kick into the top left corner.
David Trezeguet's golden goal won the final against Italy in Rotterdam and it saw the French become the first team to add the European Championship to the World Cup.
At the 2006 World Cup, Zidane was once again the semi-final hero for France as his first-half penalty in Munich earned another last-four success.
The midfield maestro coolly netted past Ricardo after Thierry Henry was tripped inside the box by Ricardo Carvalho.
So what will be the outcome when they meet in Paris on Sunday?
Ronaldo will be determined to land his first major international honour and to finally end the French hoodoo, while free-scoring Antoine Griezmann will be carrying the hopes of a nation on his back with Les Bleus aiming to make more history by becoming three-time winners of the competition.
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