 Portugal and the Netherlands had met at the semi-final stage of the previous major tournament, UEFA Euro 2004 held in Portugal, which had finished 2–1 to the host nation, but had not featured the same level of animosity between the players.A total of five Dutch and eleven Portuguese players who took some part in that fixture were also on the field in Nuremberg.The match ended 1–0 to Portugal, with Maniche scoring in the 23rd minute; he had also scored the winning goal in 2004.