Euro stories… Greece’s national team is a Euro 2004 miracle

Before the start of Euro 2004, the Greek national team had not won any major tournaments. Rather, its best achievement was qualifying for the European Nations Cup in 1980. However, the descendants of the Greeks created a miracle and surprised everyone in Euro 2004 to win the title for the first time in their history.

Fire group
The draw for Euro 2004 placed the Greek team, led by its experienced German coach, Otto Rehhagel, in the difficult first group, along with Portugal, the host of the tournament, Spain, which was then seeking its second title, and the strong Russian team. According to critics and observers, the Greek team was the weakest link in the group and would not be able to qualify for the second round.

A surprising victory over Portugal in the opening match
The Greek national team drew attention early when it ousted the Portuguese national team, the host of the tournament, in the opening match by defeating it by two goals to one, but everyone considered this victory to be a breakthrough and that the Greeks would not be able to repeat it, especially since their next match will be with Spain.

A valuable point for the Spaniards
In the second round, the Greek team faced its Spanish counterpart, succeeding in snatching a valuable point from it by drawing with them without goals, as the team now needed to defeat Russia in the third round of the group stage to ensure its passage to the quarter-finals for the first time in its history.

Portugal provides the service of a lifetime to Greece
In the third and final round, everyone expected Greece to win over Russia and reach the quarter-finals, but the Russian bear did not make room for the Greek descendants to defeat them by two goals to one. But the gift came from the second match, when the Portuguese national team was able to provide the service of a lifetime to the Greeks by defeating Spain with a clean goal, so that Greece would qualify for the round. The quarter-finals, with a goal difference over the Spanish national team, is an unprecedented historical achievement in the history of Greek football.

Achieving the miracle by defeating France
In the quarter-finals, the Greek team achieved one of its greatest victories in history by defeating the French team, the defending champion, with a goal without a response, noting that the French team included among its ranks the best players in the history of French football, led by the legend Zinedine Zidane.

Overthrowing the Czechs and repeating the victory over Portugal
In the semi-finals, the descendants of the Greeks continued their historic march by defeating the Czechs with a clean goal, before repeating their victory over Portugal, led by star Cristiano Ronaldo, in the final match with an unanswered goal to crown the title, which was described as a miracle that will not be repeated.

*The photo is from the internet