Portugal 0-0 France - Rui Jorge’s side claim an important point at the 2025 UEFA European U21 Championship | OneFootball

Portugal began their 2025 UEFA European U21 Championship campaign with a 0-0 draw against France. The Equipa das Quinas were the better side in Trenčín with Paulo Bernardo, Roger Fernandes and Tiago Tomás denied early on.

Rui Jorge’s side conceded a penalty in the 29th minute that was overruled by the VAR. France turned the tide in the second half but were unable to seriously test Samuel Soares.

The game opened up in the closing stages but the deadlock wouldn’t be broken, both teams ultimately content with a point before taking on Poland and Georgia in Group C.

Portugal 0-0 France

Portugal had a great chance in the 14th minute when Geovany Quenda got the ball to Paulo Bernardo who saw his shot blocked by Chrislain Matsima. Bernardo did well to steer the rebound to Roger Fernandes who was denied by a goal line clearance from Castello Lukeba.

Tiago Tomás then outmuscled Matsima, getting past the defender with Guillaume Restes coming off his line to make an important save. Quenda headed Roger’s cross over the bar as the chances kept coming.

A loose pass from Quentin Merlin presented Portugal with their next opportunity that fell to Roger, his shot blocked by Ismaël Doukouré.

Rui Jorge’s side dodged a bullet in the 29th minute when referee Manfredas Lukjančukas awarded France a penalty. Matthis Abline had got past Rafael Rodrigues who brought the forward down near the byline, VAR ruling that the challenge occurred inches outside the box.

Rui Jorge made a substitution at half-time, bringing on Flávio Nazinho for Rafael Rodrigues.

France began the second half strong and continually applied pressure to Portugal’s defence without testing Samuel Soares.

Jorge made two more changes in the 60th minute, overhauling his wide men with Quenda and Roger replaced by Rodrigo Gomes and Carlos Forbs. Gérald Baticle went to his bench for the first time two minutes later when Abline made way for Thierno Barry.

The contest began to open up at both ends, Gomes firing a difficult chance over the bar and Mathys Tel shooting straight at Soares before being replaced by Loum Tchaouna.

Portugal were making plenty of inroads down the left wing, Nazinho creating a chance for Bernardo and Forbs unable to pick out an unmarked Gomes. Tomás was exhausted and replaced in the 80th minute when Gustavo Sá entered the fray.

The final two chances fell for France, Nazinho denying Odobert and Johann Lepenant’s shot saved by Soares.

Promising performance

France had the superior side on paper, particularly in defence with centre-backs Castello Lukeba and Chrislain Matsima frequently joined by Ismaël Doukouré. All three players made key interventions to prevent Portugal taking an early lead.

Portugal held their own in midfield, particularly thanks to Mateus Fernandes and Paulo Bernardo who have gained plenty of top flight experience playing in the United Kingdom. Geovany Quenda was key to creating chances, the winger picking up a couple of knocks and replaced by Rodrigo Gomes on the hour mark.

Tiago Tomás worked tirelessly up front in an impressive performance,the striker completely gassed by the time he made way for Gustavo Sá. Rui Jorge explained his decision to leave Henrique Araújo on the bench but there is no doubt that Fábio Silva’s late withdrawal from the squad limits his options up front.

I think Jorge will ultimately be satisfied with the point considering France’s class and experience advantage. The VAR is very rarely used in youth tournaments and it came to Portugal’s rescue to overturn a penalty that was awarded in the 29th minute.

Expect to see Jorge make some changes when Portugal face Poland on Saturday. Regardless of who starts, expect to see excitement out wide during the final 30 minutes, Jorge blessed with an abundance of fast, direct and dangerous wingers.

Quotes

Rui Jorge: "It could have been better. We created enough chances to get the win. We played a good game, with an excellent team attitude. We managed to create some dangerous situations, but we didn’t convert them. It’s strange when a game like this ends 0-0.

"My players showed quality, passion for the game and a great spirit of sacrifice. That’s the image we always want to convey, so I’m pleased about that too. There were some nerves, as well as situations where we could have finished better. I’m happy with the game, although not entirely satisfied with the result. If we play like this more often, we’ll win more often.

"We created good finishing opportunities that could have resulted in a goal. Of course we had a few own goals, but it was a good spectacle for those who watched. I would hardly say that a game between these two teams would end 0-0, but it happened."

"We are looking for these performances. We always talk a lot about the objective, which becomes much closer when we demonstrate this level of performance. Of course we were not perfect and we are far from it, but it was a good performance against an excellent team.

"I was very pleased with the performance of the defensive quartet. Now, they don’t defend alone and we had three midfielders who gave a great help, as well as the wingers and Tiago Tomás, who did an extraordinary job. The defense was very good and faced great players, but the whole team helped in the defensive process.

"It was an extremely tiring game for the wingers and I’m interested in them being able to give their best when they’re on the pitch. Roger Fernandes and Geovany Quenda made a tremendous effort, but we have a very homogeneous group, with very similar quality and level. Rodrigo Gomes and Carlos Forbs came in and had the same role of looking for depth and I think we managed to do that.

"I asked Gustavo Sá to move a little bit out of the striker’s area and play a little bit lower, in order to try to get the French central defenders out of their position, because Carlos Forbs and Rodrigo Gomes are extremely fast and we could take advantage of that space. In addition, Gustavo Sá provided some quality in a lower area and numerical superiority as well. Obviously, if it was just a swap for the sake of it, the solution would be Henrique Araújo."

Tiago Tomás: "I think it was a very even game. There were parts of the game where they managed to intimidate us too, but we had six or seven chances to score. If there was going to be a winner, it would have to be us. I’m proud of the performance but, in a short competition, the important thing is the points.

"It’s worth highlighting the performance we put in against one of the best teams. It’s a good motivation. We’ll have different opponents, we’ll change our approach, but we’ll play to win and to get through the group stage."

Chico Lamba: "We knew it was going to be a very difficult game, against a very strong opponent who are favourites to win this tournament. We didn’t hide, we played very well and it was a shame we didn’t manage to score any goals. We gave everything out there, they are excellent players, they all play in the top five leagues in the world. We will never hide. We are here to do our best and win games."

By Matthew Marshall at Stadion Sihot

Line Ups

Portugal (4-3-3): Samuel Soares; Rodrigo Pinheiro, João Muniz, Chico Lamba, Rafael Rodrigues (Flávio Nazinho 46’); Mateus Fernandes, Diogo Nascimento, Paulo Bernardo; Geovany Quenda (Rodrigo Gomes 60’), Tiago Tomás (Gustavo Sá 80’), Roger Fernandes (Carlos Forbs 60’)

Unused substitutes: João Carvalho, Diogo Pinto, Christian Marques, Lourenço Figueiredo, Mathias De Amorim, João Marques, Pedro Santos, Henrique Araújo

France (4-3-3): Guillaume Restes; Kiliann Sildillia, Chrislain Matsima, Castello Lukeba, Quentin Merlin; Andy Diouf, Johann Lepenant, Ismaël Doukouré (Soungoutou Magassa 88’); Mathys Tel (Loum Tchaouna 77’), Matthis Abline, (Thierno Barry 62’) Wilson Odobert