Under-19 Futsal EURO final highlights: Portugal 3-2 Spain (aet)

Portugal retained the UEFA European Under-19 Futsal Championship thanks to a thrilling extra-time victory against Spain at Arena Chișinău, Moldova.

As in the previous final in 2023, Portugal had to recover from two goals down to prevail. On that occasion, Portugal went on to triumph 6-2 against Spain, who had won the first two editions. This time, José Luís Mendes' side fought back to force extra time, before Eduardo Tchuda hit the winner with only 14 seconds remaining ahead of a potential penalty shoot-out.

Match in brief: Portugal do it again

Portugal had taken the lead within four minutes in all their previous games at these finals, but the early stages proved tighter today, despite Diogo Sousa going close. Both teams produced a threat in the first ten minutes, yet these two rivals faced each other with the familiarity of having met four times previously in 2025 – with never more than two goals in it.

Spain eventually found a way through on the quarter-hour as their leading scorer Daniel Martínez Ruano notched his fifth goal of the finals by working an opening and shooting in after being supplied by a subtle Miquel González pass. 

Antonio Añasco then drew a pair of saves from Portugal goalkeeper Eurico Cunha, and Nacho Olivares also nearly forced the ball over the line as Spain looked for a second, having led the 2023 final against Portugal 2-0 before losing 6-2 (the same scoreline by which the 2022 showpiece was decided after extra time in the other direction).

Miguel Lahoz spurned two early chances in the second half, but the game remained tight, with Portugal enjoying plenty of the ball and going mightily close in the 28th minute, when Tiago Rodrigues embarked on a solo run and supplied finals top scorer Rodrigo Monteiro, who fired off target from close range.

Renato Almeida then intercepted a clearance from Javi Bule, only for the Spain goalkeeper to make a double save and also deny Simão Cordeiro. Indeed, it was Spain who registered next, hitting Portugal with a sucker punch as Nacho Olivares received the ball in front of goal before turning and firing in to double the lead just before the half-hour.

However, Portugal quickly pulled one back as the ball was forced through by Rodrigo Monteiro and the alert Simão Cordeiro pounced. Specialists at overturning two-goal leads in recent years at both youth and senior level, Portugal now sensed their chance and, with just under two minutes left, Rodrigo Monteiro's angled shot hit the post, allowing Tiago Rodrigues – not long on as flying goalkeeper – to smash in the rebound.

That took the game to extra time and both sides went close, while Portugal earned a ten-metre penalty taken by Rodrigo Monteiro and saved by Iker Abad, who came on specifically for the kick. But just as it seemed a penalty shoot-out was inevitable, Eduardo Tchuda turned in Renato Almeida's cross to spark wild celebrations for Portugal.

Reaction 

Eduardo Tchuda, Portugal's winning goalscorer: "It's an amazing feeling. We represented Portugal until the very end. We came to win and we won, and that's what matters.

"It's amazing. We're all friends, and we've known each other for years. We've played against each other before, but today we represented Portugal. We're all here united, and that's it. Let's go, Portugal!"

Rodrigo Monteiro, Player of the Tournament: "I don't have words for the feelings. We worked six weeks for this, plus two years of hard preparation. We believed in ourselves in the game and the goal in the last minute … We kept calm in the game. We went 2-0 down and we kept going, kept going, kept going and we scored three goals, and it was incredible to win this beautiful trophy.

"It means a lot [to be Player of the Tournament] but the guys that I play with are fantastic. They put in balls and then I just do my job. For me, the important thing is this [EURO] trophy rather than the [individual award]. It's insane to win this trophy [for Player of the Tournament], but even more to win [the EURO] trophy."

Diogo Sousa, Portugal player: "We showed what we worked for for a month. We believed until the last seconds and the goal appeared. Our coach kept us in the game when we were losing 2-0. That's what we do. We believed everything and we showed it at the end."

José Luis Mendes, Portugal coach: "It's a very fair result because we were superior to Spain. I'm very happy to see [the players] like this. Tomorrow marks six weeks since we started training. It's not easy, but they were fantastic."

Albert Canillas, Spain coach: "First of all, I want to congratulate Portugal on their victory. I think it was a very even game. I think we were the better side in the first half and we had more chances. I think that, in the second half, we were missing something. Maybe we dropped off a bit physically because we were ahead, and I think that we should've kept up the intensity a bit more.

"I want to say publicly that I'm very proud of the players. This is a fantastic, talented group. I'm sure that they'll bring a lot of joy to Spain in the future."

Line-ups

Portugal: Eurico Cunha (GK), Martim Castela, Renato Almeida, Tiago Rodrigues, Rodrigo Monteiro; Diogo Carrera (GK), Afonso Mourinha, António Pereira, Leonildo Baldé, Diogo Sousa, Simão Cordeiro, Miguel Malhão, Eduardo Tchuda, Tomás Nogueira

Spain: Javi Bule (GK), Antonio Añasco, Nacho Olivares, Miquel González, Miguel Lahoz; Iker Abad (GK), Unai Izquierdo, Roger Garcia, Pablo Guti, Daniel Martínez Ruano, Jaime Martinez-Olivares, Pol López, David Fernandez, Pedro Altaba

Key stats

• Portugal moved level with Spain on two titles.
• Spain have reached all four finals.
• Portugal's Ricardo Monteiro ended as finals top scorer with a record seven goals.
• Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Carrera was also in their winning squad in 2023. He is the second two-time champion after Spain's Nicolás Marrón in 2019 and 2022.
• Portugal coach José Luís Mendes equalled Spain's Albert Canillas' haul of two titles. Both coaches have been involved in all four editions of this competition.
• Portugal kept a record three clean sheets in their five games (including the first in a knockout match when they beat Slovenia 3-0). Their overall total of three goals conceded matched Spain's figure in 2019.
• This was the first UEFA tournament final to be played in Moldova.