Portugal: Their winning run in Futsal EURO, World Cup, Finalissima

Since their entry into major futsal competition, Portugal have generally found themselves in the shadow of neighbours Spain.

But in recent years Iberian fortunes have reversed, with Jorge Braz's Portugal winning four straight major honours: UEFA Futsal EURO 2018, the 2021 FIFA Futsal World Cup, Futsal EURO 2022 and the first Futsal Finalissima in 2022, ending Spain's hopes in each competition. The run finished only in the 2024 World Cup with a dramatic round of 16 loss to Kazakhstan.

In the course of that sequence, though, they did some things Spain have never managed: winning two straight Futsal EUROs without drawing or losing a game (or requiring a penalty shoot-out), 11 matches in all, and embarking on an eight-year, 48-game competitive unbeaten streak bookended by their 4-3 loss to Iran in the 2016 World Cup play-off on 1 October that year and the defeat by Kazakhstan on 26 September 2024.

On top of that, they have shown themselves capable of coming from behind, not least at Futsal EURO 2022 where three of their six wins, including in the semis and final, came in matches where Portugal were 2-0 down. We look at Portugal's incredible run of success.

Portugal major futsal national-team tournament finals

Futsal EURO

2022: W4-2 vs Russia
2018: W3-2aet vs Spain
2010: L2-4 vs Spain

Futsal World Cup

2021: W2-1 vs Argentina

Futsal Finalissima

2022: W1-1aet/4-2pens vs Spain

Women's Futsal EURO

2022: L3-3aet/1-4pens vs Spain
2019: L0-4 vs Spain

Under-19 Futsal EURO

2025: W3-2aet vs Spain
2023: W6-2 vs Spain
2022: L2-6aet vs Spain

The 11-game Futsal EURO winning run

Slovenia 2018 
W4-1 vs Romania (group stage, Ljubljana)
W5-3 vs Ukraine (group stage, Ljubljana)
W8-1 vs Azerbaijan (quarter-finals, Ljubljana)*
W3-2 vs Russia (semi-finals, Ljubljana)*
W3-2aet vs Spain (final, Ljubljana)*
Netherlands 2022 
W4-2 vs Serbia (group stage, Amsterdam)**
W4-1 vs Netherlands (group stage, Amsterdam)
W1-0 vs Ukraine (group stage, Groningen)
W3-2 vs Finland (quarter-finals, Amsterdam)*
W3-2 vs Spain (semi-finals, Amsterdam)**
W4-2 vs Russia (final, Amsterdam)**

*Came back from one goal down
**Came back from two goals down

Record: W11 D0 L0 F42 A18
Most appearances: Tiago Brito, Fábio Cecílio, Bruno Coelho, João Matos, André Sousa, Pany Varela all 11
Most goals: Bruno Coelho 7, Ricardinho 7, Pany Varela 5

The 48-game competitive unbeaten run

Futsal EURO 2018 qualifying
W2-1 vs Latvia (main round, Calarasi, 08/04/2017)*
W5-1 vs Finland (main round, Calarasi, 09/04/2017)
W4-0 vs Romania (main round, Calarasi, 11/04/2017)
Futsal EURO 2018 finals
W4-1 vs Romania (group stage, Ljubljana, 31/01/2018)
W5-3 vs Ukraine (group stage, Ljubljana, 04/02/2018)
W8-1 vs Azerbaijan (quarter-finals, Ljubljana, 06/02/2018)*
W3-2 vs Russia (semi-finals, Ljubljana, 08/02/2018)*
W3-2aet vs Spain (final, Ljubljana, 10/02/2018)*
2021 Futsal World Cup qualifying
W4-0 vs Latvia (main round, Viseu, 24/10/2019)
W5-0 vs Germany (main round, Viseu, 25/10/2019)
W4-1 vs Czechia (main round, Viseu, 24/10/2019)
W2-1 vs Belarus (elite round, Póvoa de Varzim, 30/01/2020)*
D2-2 vs Finland (elite round, Póvoa de Varzim, 31/01/2020)**
W4-1 vs Italy (elite round, Póvoa de Varzim, 02/02/2020)
Futsal EURO 2022 qualifying
D2-2 vs Poland (qualifying group stage, Mafra, 29/01/2021)
W3-0 vs Poland (qualifying group stage, Łódź, 03/02/2021)
D3-3 vs Czechia (qualifying group stage, Łódź, 06/03/2021)
W5-1 vs Czechia (qualifying group stage, Łódź, 09/03/2021)
W7-1 vs Norway (qualifying group stage, Seixal, 12/04/2021)
W4-0 vs Norway (qualifying group stage, Seixal, 14/04/2021)
2021 Futsal World Cup finals
W4-1 vs Thailand (group stage, Kaunas, 13/09/2021)*
W7-0 vs Solomon Islands (group stage, Kaunas, 16/09/2021)
D3-3 vs Morocco (group stage, Klaipėda, 19/09/2021)*
W4-3aet vs Serbia (round of 16, Kaunas, 24/09/2021)
W4-2aet vs Spain (quarter-finals, Vilnius, 27/09/2021)**
D2-2aet/W4-3pens vs Kazakhstan (semi-finals, Kaunas, 30/09/2021)*
W2-1 vs Argentina (final, Kanuas, 03/10/2021)
Futsal EURO 2022 finals
W4-2 vs Serbia (group stage, Amsterdam, 19/01/2022)**
W4-1 vs Netherlands (group stage, Amsterdam, 23/01/2022)
W1-0 vs Ukraine (group stage, Groningen, 28/01/2022)
W3-2 vs Finland (quarter-finals, Amsterdam, 31/01/2022)*
W3-2 vs Spain (semi-finals, Amsterdam, 04/02/2022)**
W4-2 vs Russia (final, Amsterdam, 06/02/2022)**
Futsal Finalissima 2022
W2-1 vs Paraguay (semi-final, Buenos Aires, 15/09/2022)*
D1-1aet/W4-2pens vs Spain (final, Buenos Aires, 18/09/2022)*
2024 Futsal World Cup qualifying
W5-3 vs Belarus (main round group stage, Paredes, 06/10/2022)**
W6-0 vs Lithuania (main round group stage, Kaunas, 11/10/2022)
W2-0 vs Lithuania (main round group stage, Loulé, 09/11/2022)
W4-2 vs Belarus (main round group stage, Yerevan, 07/03/2023)
W5-1 vs Finland (elite round group stage, Vantaa, 16/09/2023)
W5-0 forfeit vs Georgia (elite round group stage, Viseu, 20/09/2023)
W5-0 forfeit vs Armenia (elite round group stage, Yerevan, 07/10/2023)
W7-1 vs Armenia (elite round group stage, Póvoa de Varzim, 11/10/2023)*
W5-0 vs Finland (elite round group stage, Coimbra, 15/12/2023)
W5-0 forfeit vs Georgia (elite round group stage, Tbilisi, 20/12/2023)
2024 Futsal World Cup finals
W10-1 vs Panama (group stage, Tashkent, 16/09/2024)
W3-2 vs Tajikistan (group stage, Tashkent, 19/09/2024)
W4-1 vs Morocco (group stage, Tashkent, 22/09/2024)
L1-2 vs Kazakhstan (round of 16, Andijan, 26/09/2024)

Last updated: 05/10/2025