Portugal and France play out draw to start U21 Euro campaign

Quentin Merlin and Portugal's defender Rodrigo Pinheiro vie for the ball

Group C heavy-hitters Portugal and France played out a tense 0-0 draw on matchday one of the 2025 UEFA European U21 Championships, as Rui Jorge’s side avoided a third successive defeat with an assured display in Trencin.

In a first meeting between the two heavyweight nations since 2011, it was Portugal who edged a cagey opening quarter-hour, with Roger Fernandes seeing a dangerous effort blocked and Tiago Tomas firing straight at Guillaume Restes from the edge of the box.

Esperancas continued to threaten as the first half progressed, but the lively Fernandes spurned a glorious opportunity to break the deadlock, blazing wastefully over the bar from close range.

Having won all three of their warm-up friendlies prior to the tournament – including an eye-catching 5-3 victory over England – France unsurprisingly grew into the contest with the break approaching.

Les Bleuets thought they’d been awarded a penalty when Rafael Rodrigues hacked down Matthis Abline, only for VAR to adjudge that the foul took place narrowly outside the area.

Portugal - France match stats

Gerald Baticle’s side carried their improvement into the early stages of the second period, with Kiliann Sildillia and Ismael Doukoure both missing the target when well-placed in the box. Chances continued to flow for France as time ticked into the final half-hour, but Samuel Soares stood firm in the Portuguese goal, thwarting substitute Thierno Barry and Mathys Tel in quick succession.

The contest remained finely poised heading into the closing stages, with Tel seeing another effort saved by Soares, while at the other end, Restes comfortably dealt with Paulo Bernardo’s tame strike.

Despite another late opportunity for France through Johann Lepenant, a match-winner ultimately proved to be elusive as both sides kicked off the tournament with a hard-fought point, setting themselves up nicely in Group C alongside Poland and Georgia.

Meanwhile, in the other game in Group C, Vasilios Gordeziani scored a 94th-minute winner for Georgia to see off Poland in a 2-1 win.

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