It’s not exactly every year that we have an extraordinary upset in football, but when these rare occurrences happen it’s something spectacular and fully deserves your attention.
With Euro 2020 right around the corner, it’s only fitting to discuss what happened 17 years ago at the 2004 edition of the tournament which was played in Portugal.
Greece was ranked 35th in the world heading into Euro 2004. They were nearly a longshot, boasting the second-worst odds in the competition behind only Latvia, and especially so when considering big teams like France, Italy, Germany and Portugal were always the biggest challengers for a European Championship.
The Greeks were made up of mostly a domestic squad, outside of well-recognized players such as Thodoris Zagorakis and Giorgos Karagounis, making them a nation that many looked past heading into the tournament.
Group A was where Greece was drawn, being pitted against hosts Portugal, Spain and Russia. The road was always going to be difficult for Greece, and they were immediately thrown into the fire in Game 1 against Portugal, which featured a young Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Figo and Ricardo Carvalho.
To many onlookers’ surprise, Greece won the match 2-1 and set the tone for the rest of their tournament. Ronaldo scored a late goal in stoppage time, but it wasn’t enough to give the hosts a win in their opening match.