Portugal punish Poland 5-0 at the 2025 UEFA European U21 Championship | OneFootball

Portugal moved to the top of Group C at the 2025 UEFA European U21 Championship after thrashing Poland 5-0 in Trencin.

The opening goal came in the 17th minute when Roger Fernandes raced clear and teed up Geovany Quenda who converted from close range.

The Equipa das Quinas made it 2-0 eight minutes later when Roger found Quenda again, the winger showing neat footwork before firing the ball into the top corner.

Quenda turned provider in the 30th minute when rolled the ball through to Henrique Araújo who made no mistake. The fourth goal came before half-time, Kacper Tobiasz parrying Flávio Nazinho’s cross straight to Paulo Bernardo who sent a pinpoint strike into the net.

Portugal’s fifth goal came in the 63rd minute, Gustavo Sá striding clear on the counter, exchanging passed with Rodrigo Pinheiro before teeing up Rodrigo omes who stroked the ball through Tobiasz.

Portugal 5-0 Poland

Poland had the first opportunity of the match in the 7th minute when Filip Szymczak fired across the face of goal. The sizeable Polish support got excited but they were soon given a strong dose of reality.

Portugal’s opening goal came in the 17th minute following a long throw in from Flávio Nazinho. Roger Fernandes raced clear and provided a perfect pass for Geovany Quenda who made no mistake from close range.

The Equipa das Quinas doubled their advantage eight minutes later when Roger’s deep cross found Quenda, the 18-year-old dancing around two Polish defenders before smashing a right footed effort past Kacper Trelowski.

Portugal executed an effective counter attack in the 30th minute to make it 3-0. Roger sent Quenda clear but he chose to wait for Henrique Araújo, threading the ball to the striker who found the bottom corner.

Quenda saw his hat-trick attempt saved before Poland’s best chance of the contest came in the 37th minute, a well worked move down the left wing resulting in Kacper Kozlowski hitting the post.

Portugal made it 4-0 before the break after Nazinho overlapped Roger and sent a dangerous cross into the box. Tobiasz parried the ball straight to Paulo Bernardo who took a touch onto his left and executed a pinpoint strike into the net.

Rui Jorge made a triple substitution at half time with Bernardo, Quenda and Roger making way for Mathias De Amorim, Rodrigo Gomes and João Marques.

Adam Majewski brought on Filip Luberecki and Kajetan Szmyt for Arkadiusz Pyrka and Dominik Marczuk with Michał Gurgul making way for Lukasz Bejger in the 56th minute.

João Muniz booked for a late challenge on Szmyt before Jorge went to his bench again, bringing on Gustavo Sá for Araújo.

Portugal’s fifth goal came in the 63rd minute, another counter attack following a Polish set piece. Sá raced clear and played a 1-2 with Rodrigo Pinheiro, then giving the ball to Gomes who stroked the ball through Tobiasz’s legs.

Wiktor Bogacz forced a save from Soares before Jorge replaced Pedro Santos with Carlos Forbes. Forbs got busy in the closing stages but couldn’t make it count, Portugal cruising to the finish line with plenty left in the tank.

Quenda too good

Portugal produced a fine performance in the first half and ended the contest before the break. They punished Poland's poor defence with a clinical attacking display and proved they have a significant threat on the counter attack.

Geovany Quenda was the youngest player on the pitch but the 18-year-old looked like a man against boys. After representing Portugal at the European U17 Championship in Cyprus last year, his contribution to Sporting Clube de Portugal’s double winning season has given him a huge amount of confidence.

Rui Jorge may not have a squad as complete as in previous years, but in Quenda he has a proven match winner. Roger Fernandes improved on the left wing and combined well with Flávio Nazinho.

It was a significant occasion for Paulo Bernardo and Henrique Araújo, both players scoring in a match where they equaled Manuel Fernandes record of 30 caps for Portugal’s U21 side.

Bernardo's experience and quality is proving to be an important ingredient in midfield, especially against Poland as Mateus Fernandes didn't get off the bench. Tiago Tomás wasn't required and will be well rested after a tireless effort in the 0-0 draw against France.

The victory equaled the biggest Portuguese victory in the final stages of the European Championships, a 5-0 victory against Germany in the Euro 2015 semi-finals. Jorge's side climbed to the summit of Group C, level with France who scored in the 12th minute of added time to secure a 3-2 win against Georgia.

Portugal end the group stage against Georgia with a win or a draw enough to secure a spot in the quarter-finals.

Quotes

Rui Jorge: "It’s a great victory, but the numbers aren’t fair. We played very well in the fast attack, we knew what we had to exploit. But we still need more consistency in our game, we weren’t as superior as the numbers say”, said Rui Jorge.

"When the players are intelligent, when they understand the coach's idea, it becomes easier. They showed quality in many actions, we were good defensively, we need to maintain this level to move forward.

“What I want is for them to give their all, whether they are on the pitch for 90, 45 or one minute. The players have been doing that. Their enthusiasm satisfies me as a coach. The players are all available and willing to help the group and not themselves.”

Geovany Quenda: "We needed a win, that was the most important thing. Roger and I had already talked about it, that one of us had to score. He made two assists. The most important thing was the team’s win. Each player has their own characteristics, the team was with us.

"It is always an honor to represent Portugal, wherever it is, under-19, under-20 or under-21. Being here does not mean that things are going badly, quite the opposite. I just have to keep working, that is the most important thing for me.

Roger Fernandes: "It was a great victory, we worked hard for it. We were hungry, the game was very good, we wanted to respond and we were effective.

Henrique Araujo: "Excellent game. We started focused. It was very important to win, we were very efficient. We scored with almost every shot in the first half, which gave us a lot of peace of mind. Every goal is important, but we can't let up. We have to correct the details.

“It's always good to break these records. We played a great game, scoring five goals.”

By Matthew Marshall at Stadion Sihot

Line Ups

Portugal (4-3-3): Samuel Soares; Rodrigo Pinheiro, João Muniz, Chico Lamba, Flávio Nazinho; Diogo Nascimento, Paulo Bernardo (Mathias De Amorim 46’), Pedro Santos (Carlos Forbs 69’); Geovany Quenda (Rodrigo Gomes 46’), Henrique Araújo (Gustavo Sá 61’), Roger Fernandes (João Marques 46’)

Coach: Rui Jorge

Unused substitutes: João Carvalho, Diogo Pinto, Christian Marques, Lourenço Figueiredo, Rafael Rodrigues, Mateus Fernandes, Tiago Tomás

Poland (5-4-1): Kacper Tobiasz; Dominik Marczuk (Kajetan Szmyt 46’), Patryk Peda, Ariel Mosór, Michal Gurgul (Lukasz Bejger 56’), Arkadiusz Pyrka (Filip Luberecki 46’); Kacper Kozlowski (Tomasz Pienko 69’), Jakub Kaluzinski (Mateusz Kowalczyk 83’), Mateusz Legowski, Mariusz Fornalczyk; Filip Szymczak

Goals