Germany and Portugal came to blows in the UEFA Nations League for the first time last Wednesday, with the hosts suffering a 2-1 defeat as the visitors booked their place in the final.
After defeating Italy in the quarter-finals, Germany earned the honuor of hosting the finals, but they failed to capitalise on their home advantage as Portugal overturned Florian Wirtz‘s opener with goals from Francisco Conceicao and Bruno Fernandes.
Germany, defeated at the Allianz Arena, were condemned to a third-placed playoff match with France, while Portugal marched into the final against Spain as a result of their triumph.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two nations.
Head-to-head record
Previous meetings: 20 Germany wins: 11 Draws: 5 Portugal wins: 4
Germany and Portugal do not do friendlies, and last week’s meeting was their first non-major tournament clash since 1997, when the two were drawn together for World Cup qualifying.
The two have met seven times at major tournaments, and six of them have been in the 21st century, with Germany winning each of the last five.
Most recently, they met in Munich at Euro 2020 in front of a limited capacity, and Portugal looked like they were going to arrest that dismal run in the fixture, going 1-0 up thanks to Ronaldo’s early strike, but by the hour mark, Germany were 4-1 up and would go on to win.
However, this time, Portugal and Ronaldo got their revenge, as the legendary striker scored the deciding goal in Portugal’s 2-1 semi-final victory over Germany, snapping their losing streak in this fixture and booking their place in the Nations League final against Spain.
Germany’s dominant run had initially began on home turf in 2006, when they beat Portugal 3-1 in the third-place playoff of the World Cup, with Bastian Schweinsteiger netting twice in that consolation victory following their defeat to Italy in the semi-finals.
Schweinsteiger was at his best again when the pair met two years later in Basel at Euro 2008, scoring the opening goal before teeing up another two on the way to a 3-2 win in the quarter-finals.
The next European Championship held in Poland and Ukraine saw the two drawn in the ‘Group of Death’ together, along with the Netherlands and Denmark, and even though both advanced to the knockout stages, it was Germany again who got the better of Portugal, with Mario Gomez‘s solitary strike enough to seal three points on matchday one.
One day Portugal supporters will want to forget is their defeat to Germany at the 2014 World Cup though, where Pepe‘s moment of madness and some Thomas Muller brilliance saw Die Mannschaft win 4-0 in the group stage.
It was a clash between Pepe and Muller that saw the Portuguese defender sent off, and the German attacker would go on to score a hat trick in that commanding win, which contributed to Portugal suffering elimination, missing out on second place to the USA.
Portugal’s recent victory is their first in this fixture since Euro 2000, and it was during a real crisis for Germany, who finished bottom of the group at those finals, partly due to Sergio Conceicao‘s hat trick that sealed a 3-0 win for Humberto Coelho‘s men.
Playing as West Germany, they were also eliminated in the group stage at Euro 84 after drawing 0-0 with Portugal, but revenge was exacted in 1986 World Cup qualifying, when it was the Germans who edged Portugal out for the only automatic qualification spot in their section, despite losing at home late in the campaign.
It was the same story in qualifying for the 1998 World Cup, as two draws between the sides was enough for Germany to win the group, but Portugal missed out entirely, finishing third behind Ukraine, who took the playoff place.
Previous competitive meetings
Jun 04, 2025: Germany 1-2 Portugal (Nations League Semi-Final)
Jun 19, 2021: Portugal 2-4 Germany (European Championship Group Stage)
Jun 16, 2014: Germany 4-0 Portugal (World Cup Group Stage)
Jun 09, 2012: Germany 1-0 Portugal (European Championship Group Stage)
Jun 19, 2008: Germany 3-2 Portugal (European Championship Quarter-Final)
Jul 08, 2006: Germany 3-1 Portugal (World Cup Third-Place Playoff)
Jun 20, 2000: Portugal 3-0 Germany (European Championship Group Stage)
Sep 06, 1997: Germany 1-1 Portugal (World Cup Qualifying)
Dec 14, 1996: Portugal 0-0 Germany (World Cup Qualifying)
Oct 16, 1985: West Germany 0-1 Portugal (World Cup Qualifying)
Feb 24, 1985: Portugal 1-2 West Germany (World Cup Qualifying)
Jun 14, 1984: West Germany 0-0 Portugal (European Championship Group Stage)
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