LEIGH, England -- Heading to Leigh Sports Village on Wednesday, you wouldn't have known that it was Portugal who were playing here against Netherlands.
Apart from one discarded flag on the ground, the place was heaving with orange jerseys as the infamous oranje fans made themselves known with their procession to the stadium. Curious residents stood outside their doors as an orange double-decker bus, blaring classic Dutch tunes, guided the dancing fans through the small streets of Leigh.
Inside the stadium, the vibe was mostly similar. The Dutch had taken over the stands -- with the exception of one small corner of Portugal fans. While they may not have been the biggest or brightest contingent, the Portuguese made a lot of noise and made sure everyone knew they were there.
This Portugal national team have done something similar with their tournament so far. The second-lowest ranked team in the tournament (ahead of only Northern Ireland), they pulled off an epic comeback against Switzerland to draw 2-2 and pushed Euro 2017 champions Netherlands nearly to the brink of a draw were it not for a particularly impressive Danielle van de Donk strike. They have shown their worth when few expected much from them.
It was hard to know what to expect from this Portugal team given the way they came into the tournament. After failing to qualify for the 2019 World Cup, they were competing against Finland, Scotland, Albania and Cyprus for a spot at Euro 2022. They played beyond many people's expectations, winning all of their games except for a painful last minute goal in Helsinki when they played Finland. That result made sure that Finland topped the group and automatically qualified while Portugal overcame favourites Scotland for second place and a spot in the playoffs.
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There, they met Russia and narrowly lost 1-0 thanks to a Nelli Korovkina goal in the first leg in Portugal and then managed a 0-0 draw in Russia. It seemed like their journey had come to an end and another major tournament was cruelly out of their reach. However, that all changed when 10 weeks out from the tournament, UEFA announced that Russia would not be allowed participate due to the country's invasion of Ukraine. Suddenly, Portugal were in the mix once again.
On hearing the news, though, coach Francisco Neto wanted to make it clear that there were bigger things happening than football: "We would exchange our place at this European Championship for a world without war and without the shocking events that we have been following on television -- bombings, deaths ... children, women, entire families in suffering, on the run. Nobody is indifferent [to this]."
After thinking for a year that they wouldn't be involved in the tournament, it was a bracing turn of events to come to terms with. Neto said after his team had failed to qualify that he couldn't even watch any of the games back -- something he always did before -- because it was all too painful. When UEFA announced that the men's Champions League final was being taken away from St. Petersburg, Portugal wondered if Euro 2022 was next.
"We didn't want to get too excited, in case it ended up not happening," Portugal captain Dolores Silva said in an interview with The Athletic. "But I didn't book any holidays for the summer. We always had that hope."
Remarkably, the team has said that their general participation wasn't largely affected by the short notice. If anything, it was the logistics -- what kit would they wear? When could they get official team pictures? Where would be their temporary base? -- that proved more difficult.
Euro 2017 was the first major tournament they had qualified for and the team followed a similar prep for the run into this tournament. They had one week off after their domestic season finished and then one week of remote training wherever they were based. Then things slowly ramped up until the tournament. They already had games with Greece lined up but managed to get another against tougher opponents Australia to help them prepare.
With the majority of the side playing domestically in Portugal and the fact that this is only their second major tournament, they would have been forgiven for being caught like a deer in headlights in their first game. Within the first five minutes, Switzerland went 2-0 up with goals coming from Coumba Sow and Rahel Kiwic. It seemed like Portugal were in for a long night -- but then they rallied. They came out in the second half a different side, and in the space of seven minutes brought the score to 2-2 with goals from Diana Gomes and Jessica Silva.
"I told them to keep our dynamics, our momentum," Neto said after the game. "It's not easy, you cannot just click your fingers. All great teams are made from these things, going two goals behind and being able to come back. Dead balls, they are important. We could have scored twice more from dead ball situations. We are upset about it."
It felt like a classic representation of this Portugal side. They played good football and got themselves back into the game after a horrid start, but once again they were just missing that final edge.
The same could be said for their game against Netherlands. Once again Portugal conceded early with Damaris Egurrola kicking off the scoring just seven minutes in. Stefanie van der Gragt doubled their lead after 16 minutes, and this was with Portugal having the majority of the possession and playing some lovely one touch football. Goals from Carole Costa and Diana Silva brought them level once again, and you felt like they could sneak a third. On the night, it wasn't to be, but once again they had shown that they are no small fish.
"I am proud of them and I think every person in Portugal should be proud of this team," Neto said after the game. "At 2-2 we thought we could beat the champions of Europe. This means the women's game in Portugal is growing."
Growing it certainly is. Eight years ago, the side were ranked 49th in the world. They've climbed up to 30th. More of their players are starting to travel outside the country to play, and the league is developing with more funding from the Portugal Football Association.
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In 2019-20, Jessica Silva became the first Portugal player to win the Women's Champions League and she has also played in Sweden, Spain and the United States. Kika Nazareth, 19, became the first women's player to be represented by super agent Jorge Mendes and is seen as something of a star for the future of the game.
"I feel like I don't play football just for myself," Silva said. "It's my profession, but there are girls and even kids who see me as a reference, and that gives me enormous energy and motivation to do what I like."
Before the tournament, Neto said that his aim was to get more points and goals than they did. That fortune is still very much in their hands. A win against Sweden -- who have been less than impressive so far -- on Sunday would secure that. They have already scored one goal more than they did in 2017 and their performances have shone a spotlight on the talent that there is in Portugal.
"Eight years ago we were in 49th place in Fifa rankings," Neto said. "Now we are 29th [since dropped to 30th] -- but that's not where we want to stay."