Portugal beat the Netherlands 4-2, this Wednesday, in the 2nd round of the main round of qualification for the 2026 European Championship, on a historic night for João Matos, who became Portugal’s most capped player of all time. , with 209 games, surpassing Arnaldo Pereira.
The team coached by Jorge Braz reached the break leading 1-0, thanks to Tiago Brito’s goal in the 15th minute.
In the second half, Diogo Santos made it 2-0 in the 22nd minute. The Dutch, however, managed to reach a draw, with goals from Ismail Ouaddouh (27m) and Tevfik Ceyar (28m).
The Portuguese response came shortly after, with Pany Varela making it 3-2 (29m) and Diogo Santos, closing the game, making it 4-2 (40m).
Also this Wednesday, in the other game in group 7, there was a one-goal draw against North Macedonia-Andorra.
Portugal is the leader with six points, followed by the Netherlands (three) and North Macedonia and Andorra, both with one.
The next round is only in 2025, with Portugal playing against Macedonia on January 31st.
The group winners qualify directly for the European Championship, joining Lithuania and Latvia, hosts of the competition. The eight best runners-up from the ten groups reach a play-off.
