S13E50 Euro '96 Throwback: Portugal and Netherlands

The countdown is on for this years European Championship, and to get you in the mood we are going back 28 years to relive Euro '96. In the third of this four-part series, John B looks at the fortunes of Portugal and Netherlands by speaking to PortuGOAL creator Tom Kundert and Dutch football expert at Flashscore Finley Crebolder. Having been knocking on the door for a place at Euro ‘92 and USA ‘94, Portugal strolled to qualification and with the talents of Luis Figo and Rui Costa they were considered a dark horse for the tournament. However, despite winning their group with seven points from three games, they came unstuck against Czech Republic in the Quarter Finals. Meanwhile, the Dutch endured a difficult route to England, where they needed a playoff victory against Republic of Ireland to secure their place, and then they scraped into the last eight on goal difference ahead of Scotland before a penalty shootout defeat to France ended their hopes of success. Tom and Finley give a good insight into their respective journeys and also give a combined Euro 96 & 2024 XI for each nation, which throws some interesting selections. Footnote - John is also doing this series as a build-up to the launch of his second book, We're Going To Wembley: Scotland's Euro '96 journey by Pitch Publishing, which he has co-written with Neil Doherty. Full details on where you can pre-order the book can be found on Pitch's website or by contacting John or Neil directly. Intro Music - Glasgow to Berlin by PG Ciarletta Outro Music - Whatever it Takes by Scott McGill Intro Voiceover - Rory Hamilton Thank you to supernovaterracewear.com who are sponsoring our Fantasy Football Scotland league for the third season running. You can find them on Twitter Supernova Terracewear or Instagram @supernovaterracewear Tweet us @sffpodcastInstagram - sffpodcastFacebook - Scottish Football ForumsMastodon - @[email protected] - [email protected]