Portugal was eliminated this Saturday from the Under-21 European Championship after being defeated in the quarterfinals against the Netherlands 1-0. The team, commanded by Rui Jorge, played with ten men from the 21st minute and failed to convert a penalty, among other opportunities. The Netherlands were pragmatic, and a quick move resulted in the only goal Portugal conceded in the tournament, dictating their elimination.

Watch the highlights of the match here.

Portugal entered the match against the Netherlands with high morale, coming off two strong victories in their last two group stage games against Poland (5-0) and Georgia (4-0). roger, injured, was not even included in the squad and was replaced by Gustavo Sá in the starting eleven.

The team, commanded by Rui Jorge, started the match creating several dangerous opportunities through Geovany Quenda and Rodrigo Pinheiro, but Tiago Tomás was unable to capitalize. Portugal was on top, and their task seemed to become easier after Van Bommel received two yellow cards in quick succession and was sent off in the 21st minute.

About 10 minutes later, Gustavo Sá, with a clever pass, found Tiago Tomás in a great position inside the Wolfsburg area, and the striker was fouled by Rensch.Initially, georgian referee Goga Kikacheishvili did not award a penalty, but after reviewing the VAR images, he pointed to the penalty spot.

Quenda stepped up to take the penalty, but the striker, who already had three goals in this edition of the tournament, hit the left post of Roefs’s goal.

Wrink with more aim 💔#Sporttvport #EUROnaSPORTTV #UEFAUnder21Championship #Portugal #Paisesbaixes pic.twitter.com/3CiO2lObxu

– Sport TV (@Sporttvportug)
June 21, 2025

The Netherlands reacted shortly afterwards and even put the ball into the Portuguese goal through Chico Lamba, but the referee promptly ruled it out for offside against maatsen.

It didn’t even seem like the Dutch team had one less player, and Samuel Soares was forced to make a great save from Van Bergen’s shot after a quick counterattack led by Marhoef’s speed.The Portuguese goalkeeper managed to keep the score tied at zero going into halftime.

Samuel Soares 🧱#Sporttvport #EUROnaSPORTTV #UEFAUnder21Championship #Portugal #Paisesbaixes pic.twitter.com/0VX9foUMhh

– Sport TV (@Sporttvportug)
June 21, 2025

The second half began with another dangerous attack from Portugal. With Henrique Araújo on the field, Gustavo Sá crossed the ball to Paulo Bernardo, who made a strong run into the box. the Celtic midfielder forced roefs into a good save to prevent a Portuguese goal.

The old saying goes: “Who does not score, suffers.” Playing with 10 men since the 21st minute, and after a lot of possession and some opportunities for relative danger, a great pass from Maatsen was enough to unlock the score. The Dutch defense found Poku, who withstood the challenge from Flávio Nazinho, easily beat Samuel Soares, and sparked the Dutch festivity in Zilina, Slovakia.

Ernest About a marcar 🇳🇱#Sporttvport #EUROnaSPORTTV #UEFAUnder21Championship #Portugal #Paisesbaixes pic.twitter.com/jc0KwEYnNJ

– Sport TV (@sporttvportug)
June 21, 2025

With this result, and with the only goal conceded in the competition, the team commanded by Rui Jorge are out of this edition of the U21 European Championship. The Netherlands await the winner of the match between Spain and England to face in the semi-finals.