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Portugal v Romania play-off: dates, venues

Portugal host Romania in the first leg of the UEFA Women's EURO 2017 play-off on 21 October at Lisbon's Estádio do Restelo before the return four days later in Cluj.

Estádio do Restelo will stage the first leg
Estádio do Restelo will stage the first leg ©Sportsfile

The dates and venues for the UEFA Women's EURO 2017 play-off between Portugal and Romania have been confirmed.

Both sides are seeking a major tournament debut after finishing second in their qualifying groups but not ending among the six runners-up with the best record against the top four in their respective sections. In a draw last Friday, Portugal were picked out to stage the first leg.

First leg: Friday 21 October, Estádio do Restelo, Lisbon
Second leg: Tuesday 25 October, Stadionul Dr. Constantin Rădulescu, Cluj

Belenenses' Restelo staged the 2014 UEFA Women's Champions League final while the second-leg venue is the home of former UEFA Champions League contenders CFR Cluj. The final tournament draw takes place in Rotterdam on 8 November. The finals in the Netherlands run from 16 July to 6 August.

Already qualified: Netherlands (hosts), Germany (holders), Austria, Belgium, Denmark, England, France, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Russia, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

©FPF

Play-off guide

  • Both these teams upset the odds to reach the play-offs, the only countries from outside the top two seeding tiers to earn a top-two finish in their groups (Romania were in Pot 3, ranking 22nd, and Portugal in Pot 4, ranking 26th).
  • The key result for Portugal (who lost three of their first four Group 2 fixtures) was a 3-2 win over Finland on 16 September, with Cláudia Neto's hat-trick overturning a 2-0 deficit. That took them within three points of second spot and they snatched it on head-to-head record after a 1-0 victory in the Republic of Ireland – secured by Neto's 78th-minute goal – aligned with Finland (veteran of every final tournament since 2005) losing 5-0 in Spain.
  • Romania made sure of the runners-up slot in Group 3 by beating Ukraine 2-1 in their penultimate game; although they then signed off with a 4-0 thrashing of Greece, they were pipped to automatic qualification by Russia after the latter's 5-0 success against Croatia.
©FRF
  • Whoever qualifies will make it five debutants in the expanded 16-team finals alongside Austria, Belgium, Scotland and Switzerland.
  • Portugal previously contested the play-off for the finals of 2001 (losing 3-0 in Italy before winning the home second leg 1-0) and 1997 (succumbing 12-1 on aggregate to Denmark).
  • Romania are within a play-off of a women's final tournament for the first time.
  • The two nations have met twice before, both times at the Algarve Cup in Parchal – drawing 0-0 in 2010 and 1-1 the following year, Edite Fernandes's 41st-minute opener cancelled out five minutes from time by Ştefania Vătafu.
©Sportsfile
  • Portugal have qualified for two female youth tournaments – the 2011/12 UEFA European Women's Under-19 Championship, where they got to the semi-finals, and the 2013/14 UEFA European Women's U17 Championship.
  •  Romania have played in just one women's final tournament at any level – the 2012 WU19 EURO, where they lost 1-0 in the group stage to Portugal, who pipped them to the last four.
  • That is the only victory for any Portugal team in a women's final tournament, Micas scoring the goal.

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