When teams progress in major tournaments without winning

After Portugal became the first side to reach the semi-final of the European Championship without winning a match in normal time, we look back at past instances of success through unusual means.

Portugal's penalty shoot-out win over Poland in Marseille came after an extra-time victory over Croatia and group-stage draws with Iceland (1-1), Austria (0-0) and Hungary (3-3). 

The new Euro 2016 format helped, of course, meaning their three points in third place of Group F was enough for a last-16 berth, but who else has drawn their way to the latter stages of a major competition?

PSV (1988 European Cup)

Guus Hiddink's Dutch champions did not struggle for goals and wins in the first and second rounds of the 1987/88 European Cup, seeing off Galatasaray (3-2 on agg) and Rapid Vienna (4-1 on agg), but things got rather tense in the last eight.

They drew 1-1 in Bordeaux in the quarter-final first leg, before a 0-0 draw in Eindhoven gave them a win on away goals, before the exact same scenario occurred in the semi-final against Real Madrid.

The final in Stuttgart against Benfica was a 0-0 draw, but PSV weren't shy in the penalty shoot-out, scoring all six in a 6-5 victory to hand them an historic major treble, one of only seven European sides to achieve the feat.

"We were absolutely not the favourites" recalled Hiddink. "We were an unknown side with a lot of young dogs. Everyone would go through fire and water for each other, and that led to the European Cup victory."

Paraguay at 2011 Copa America

Paraguay weren't short on goals in the group stages of the 2011 Copa America, drawing 2-2 with Brazil and 3-3 with Venezuela after a 0-0 draw with Ecuador in the opening game.

They squeezed through to the last eight as one of the two best third-place sides above Costa Rica on goal difference, meaning another meeting with Brazil in the quarter-final.

After a 0-0 draw and extra-time, Brazil missed all four of their penalties, meaning Paraguay went through to meet Venezuela in the last four in Mendoza, Argentina, which again went to a penalty shoot-out following a goalless draw.

Paraguay won 5-3, meaning they had reached the final without scoring a goal in open play in the knockout stages, but fell 3-0 in the final against a Diego Forlan-inspired Uruguay in Buenos Aires.

Republic of Ireland at 1990 World Cup

Their qualification for Italia 90 was relatively comfortable, but once Jack Charlton's Republic of Ireland arrived at the World Cup, it was draw after draw.

They came second in Group F behind England with three draws from their three games, needing a favourable drawing of lots to finish above the Netherlands, who had an identical record.

That meant the Netherlands faced eventual winners West Germany in the last 16, losing 2-1, while the Republic of Ireland faced Romania in Genoa.

After a 0-0 draw, they were victorious 5-4 on penalties, meaning a quarter-final clash against the hosts despite not winning a game in normal time and scoring only two goals.

They lost 1-0 to Salvatore Schillaci's first-half goal, before the tournament was expanded from 24 teams to 32 eight years later for France 98.

Italy at 1982 World Cup

After the initial group stage, Italy's road to 1982 World Cup glory was convincing, seeing off Argentina, Brazil, Poland and then West Germany in the final in Madrid.

But the initial stages of the competition had not been quite as simple. Having drawn all three of their Group 1 games against Poland, Peru and Cameroon, Enzo Bearzot's side went through on a superior goals scored record over Cameroon.

But the group stage circumstances left a sour taste in the mouths of the Algerian side in particular.

Despite winning two of their Group 2 games and scoring three more goals than Italy, Algeria finished below second-place Austria on goal difference after what was coined the 'Disgrace of Gijon'.

With West Germany 1-0 up against Austria through a 10th minute goal, knowing exactly what they both needed to qualify from Algeria's result the day previous, both sides became rather goal-shy, the scoreline suiting both.

As a result, all final group games in major tournaments were made to be played at the same time from the 1994 World Cup onwards to avoid this happening again. 

When it goes the other way...

In 2010, New Zealand became the fourth nation to be eliminated from the World Cup despite not losing a game.

They drew all three of their Group F games - against Italy (1-1), Slovakia (1-1) and Paraguay (1-1) - but were still eliminated, finishing a point behind Slovakia.

The same occurred with Scotland (1974), Cameroon (1982) and Belgium (1998).