U21 semi-final facts: Portugal v Germany
Friday, June 26, 2015
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Group B winners Portugal meet Group A runners-up Germany in Olomouc in the first of Saturday's two semi-finals at the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.
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Group B winners Portugal meet Group A runners-up Germany in the first of Saturday's two semi-finals at the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.
• Portugal have never won the trophy and are looking to reach the final for only the second time – 21 years after they finished runners-up to Italy in the 1994 edition.
• Germany are looking for their second U21 crown six years after they won the trophy for the first time under Horst Hrubesch, their coach again for this tournament.
• Both sides remain unbeaten and for both, this is the first match in Olomouc. Portugal played their three group games in Uherske Hradiste and Germany their group matches in the two Prague venues.
Semi-final records
Portugal (W1 L1)
• 05/06/2004 (Bochum): Italy 3-1 Portugal
• 15/04/1994 (Montpellier): Portugal 2-0 Spain
Germany (W2 L0)
• 26/06/2009 (Helsingborg): Italy 0-1 Germany
• 21/04/1982 (Kharkiv): USSR 3-4 West Germany
30/04/1982 (Aachen): West Germany 5-0 USSR
West Germany won 9-3 on aggregate
Penalty shoot-out records
Portugal: W0 L1
• 21/06/2007, Olympic qualifying play-off (Nijmegen): Italy 0-0 Portugal (4-3 penalties)
João Moutinho, Nani and Miguel Veloso converted for Portugal but Manuel Fernandes and Antunes missed as Portugal lost out on a ticket to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Germany: No previous U21 shoot-outs
Previous meetings
• Portugal won 4-2 when the sides last met in a friendly in Portimao on 31 May 2011. The home side raced into a 2-0 lead inside seven minutes through a Wilson Eduardo double and though Jan Kirchhoff scored for Germany, Rui Fonte and Abel Camará extended their advantage. Sebastian Rudy completed the scoring in injury time.
• The line-ups were:
Portugal: Anthony Lopes, João Pereira, Dani (André Sousa 76), Ruben Ferreira, Vítor Bastos, Diogo Amado (Ricardo Martins 58), André Almeida, André Martins (Diogo Viana 66), Josué (Edu 76), Rui Fonte (João Silva 66), Wilson Eduardo (Abel Camará 58)
Germany: Baumann (Trapp 46); Kirchhoff (Funk 62), Sobiech, Rausch (Ostrzolek 46), Jantschke (Perdedaj 88), Rudy, Holtby, Hornschuh (Schindler 88), Sukuta-Pasu (Esswein 46), Lasogga (Didavi 62), Mlapa (Herrmann 46).
• Portugal have won the nations' two previous encounters on the U21 EURO finals stage. In the 2004 finals, they eliminated hosts Germany with a 2-1 victory in their last group game in Mainz. Lourenço hit a 78th-minute winner that lifted Portugal above the Germans after Hugo Almeida and Bastian Schweinsteiger had traded goals.
• Portugal, as hosts, knocked Germany out once more in the 2006 tournament group stage, winning their last match 1-0 in Guimaraes thanks to a Moutinho goal in the fourth minute of added time. Portugal had already been eliminated.
• For the 'U21-Männer', their last competitive win against Portugal was in December 1996, West Germany earned a 2-1 success in Leiria in qualifying for the 1998 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, Kai Michalke scoring both goals. The sides drew 1-1 in Frankfurt the following September and the West Germans ended up as group winners, with Portugal eliminated in third place.
• Portugal and West Germany were both eliminated when they met in the same qualifying group for the 1986 U21 knockout phase – this after a 2-1 win for Portugal in Lisbon, and a 2-0 West German victory in Karlsruhe.
• Overall the countries have met ten times before at U21 level with four wins for Portugal, three wins for Germany and three draws.
Olympic records
Both teams (along with Denmark and Sweden) have qualified for the 2016 Olympic football tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Portugal
• Portugal have appeared in three previous Olympic football tournaments (1928, 1996, 2004).
• Their best performance was in 1996 when they lost to Argentina in the semi-finals and then missed out on bronze after a 5-0 defeat by Brazil.
• Cristiano Ronaldo played in the 2004 Olympics a month after UEFA EURO 2004 but Portugal lost two of their three games – going down 4-2 against both Iraq and Costa Rica.
Germany
• Germany have played in the men's football tournament at eight Olympic Games (1912, 1928, 1936, 1952, 1956, 1972, 1984, 1988).
• They earned the bronze medal at the 1988 Seoul Games when their squad included Jürgen Klinsmann, Karlheinz Riedle and Thomas Hässler. They have not featured at an Olympics since.
• Prior to German reunification, East Germany won one gold, one silver and two bronze medals.
Squad news
• All group stage bookings were wiped out ahead of the semi-finals so no player is unavailable because of a disciplinary issue.
Portugal
• Tiago Ilori was the only injury concern following Wednesday's draw with Sweden. He left the field after 29 minutes of the match after picking up an injury to his left thigh but scans conducted the next day showed no real damage.
• Portugal held a press conference at their base in Otrokovice on Thursday lunchtime where players Ricardo Esgaio and Tozé spoke to the media. They then travelled down to Olomouc, where they will stay in the build-up to facing Germany.
• The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) president, Fernando Gomes, sent a message of congratulations on Thursday, saying: "Well done Portugal! All through the winning streak in qualification and now at the finals the team have shown great commitment, ambition and pride in representing Portugal."
• Portugal are the only team in the semi-finals yet to have gone behind in a match.
• Of the semi-finalists they have the most players to have played every minute so far (six): José Sá, Raphael Guerreiro, Paulo Oliveira, Ricardo Esgaio, William Carvalho and Sérgio Oliveira.
• Portugal have more attempted and completed passes than any other team in the competition, with an overall rate of 86% completed passes. Only Germany have been more efficient (88%).
• They have the top three players in terms of distance covered overall in the group stage: William Carvalho (38317m), Sérgio Oliveira (37414m), Bernardo Silva (36902m).
• Portugal have suffered more fouls than any other team (50) with Germany second on the list (49). Both teams have committed the lowest number of fouls – 32 and 31 respectively.
• Bernardo has been named man of the match twice already, more than any other player at the tournament.
Germany
• "This all feels very Swedish to me," said Germany coach Horst Hrubesch after his team reached the semi-finals with an identical sequence of results as in the group stage in 2009: DWD. They finished second in the group then and eventually won the tournament. "If things continue as they did then, I'll have no objections," he added.
• Germany have used 18 of their 20 outfield players so far in this tournament. Kerem Demirbay and Maximilian Arnold are the only two yet to feature.
• Only three players – Marc-André ter Stegen, Julian Korb and Matthias Ginter – have played in every minute of the tournament for Germany.
• Ginter has the best passing statistics of any player in the tournament (minimum 100 passes attempted), with a 95% completion rate – 212 from 224 attempted.
• With 54%, Germany have the highest average possession ratio of the four semi-finalists.
• Only England (56) have attempted more shots so far than Germany (54).
• Only Denmark (1) have been caught offside fewer times than Germany (2).
Team ties
• Ilori and Emre Can are both contracted to Liverpool but have never played together. Ilori was signed by the Anfield club in September 2013 but six months later went out on loan to Granada. After Can's arrival in June 2014, Ilori spent the entire 2014/15 campaign on loan at Bordeaux.
• Joshua Kimmich was in the Germany team that beat Portugal in the 2014 UEFA European Under-19 Championship final in Budapest on 31 July last year.
Form guide
• Both sides are unbeaten in 14 competitive fixtures
Portugal
Last five games (most recent first): DDWLD
Tournament top scorer: Gonçalo Paciencia, João Mário (both 1)
Qualifying top scorer: Ricardo (5)
Germany
Last five games: DWDLD
Qualifying top scorer: Philipp Hoffman (7)
Tournament top scorer: Kevin Volland (2)
Senior internationals in squad (caps)
Portugal
• Eight players with 26 caps between them
William Carvalho (13), João Mário (3), Rafa Silva (3), Raphael Guerreiro (2), Ivan Cavaleiro (2), Paulo Oliveira (1), Ricardo Horta (1), Bernarndo Silva (1)
Germany
• Six players with 15 caps between them
Matthias Ginter (5), Marc-André ter Stegen (4), Kevin Volland (3), Christian Günter (1), Maximilian Arnold (1), Max Meyer (1)
Coach profiles
Portugal: Rui Jorge (27/03/73)
Jorge succeeded Oceano Cruz in November 2010. The one-time FC Porto, Rio Ave, Sporting and Belenenses left-back made 45 appearances for his country, including one at UEFA EURO 2004 on home soil and three at the FIFA World Cup two years earlier.
Germany: Horst Hrubesch (17/04/51)
Curiously, Hrubesch replaced his successor Rainer Adrion after Germany's disappointing showing at Israel 2013. The former West Germany striker, who had guided the U21s to glory at the 2009 finals in Sweden, scored both goals during his nation's 2-1 triumph over Belgium in the 1980 UEFA European Championship final.