Futsallers lose in qualifying to reigning European champions Portugal

The Dutch indoor football players suffered their first defeat in the qualifying tournament for the European championship. The Dutch team had a good time with power Portugal in the second game, but lost 4-2.

The European Championship will take place in Latvia and Lithuania in early 2026. A total of sixteen countries qualify for the final tournament. The Dutch team is in the qualifying group with Portugal, North Macedonia and Andorra.

For direct qualification, the Dutch team must become group winner. From the ten groups, the eight best runners-up play in the play-offs for the four remaining European Championship tickets.

In the Portuguese coastal city of Póvoa de Varzim, the Dutch team had to make do again without the injured goalkeeper Manuel Kuijk, who played an important role in the successful World Cup a few months ago. The Netherlands surprisingly reached the eighth finals.

The Dutch team could last a long time against Portugal, the reigning European champion and former world champion. Five minutes before the end of the first half, the Netherlands fell behind. After a quick combination on the left, Tiago Brito shot the ball behind goalkeeper Marcel Ons, Kuijk’s replacement.

The score was 2-0 shortly after halftime. Tevfik Ceyar lost the ball just in front of his own goal and saw Diogo Santos double the score on behalf of the home country.

Within a few minutes, the Dutch team fought to an equal score. First, Ismaïl Ouaddouh scored the tying goal via the underside of the crossbar, after which Ceyar corrected his earlier mistake by scoring the equalizer.

The Netherlands could not hold the tie for long. Portugal took the lead again through Pany Varela, after which Ayoub Boukhari missed the chance to make it 3-3 in the final phase in front of an empty goal. Not long afterwards, Portugal, number two in the world rankings, made it 4-2 through Santos.