Nobody understands the pressure that France are under in the Euro
2016 final better than two of their opponents on Sunday, Ricardo
Carvalho and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The pair started for Portugal at Euro 2004 when they were the last host nation to participate in the final of a World Cup or European Championship. They would also become the first side to lose the final of one of those tournaments on home soil since Sweden at World Cup 1958, being beaten 1-0 by Greece.
Twelve years might not seem like that long to wait for a second chance, especially for a country who had never ventured that far in a competition before that summer, but there have been several near misses since, most notably runs to the semi-finals of World Cup 2006 and Euro 2012.
So now that they are back in the position that they assumed in 2004, one match away from glory, are they going to be able to atone for their error? A 13-match undefeated streak in competitive games since hiring expert international boss Fernando Santos and odds of 2.98 to lift the trophy say yes.
However, the historical precedents suggest that it is far more likely that France succeed where Portugal failed earlier this century and triumph in front of their fans at 1.50.
Four other European nations have fallen short in their first ever World Cup or European Championship final and later been granted a second shot at silverware. None of them took it.
Czechoslovakia followed up their 2-1 extra-time reverse to Italy at World Cup 1934 with a 3-1 loss to Brazil in Chile the next time that they reached a final at World Cup 1962.
Admittedly, there was a fairly hefty gap between those appearances, with them being represented by an entirely different generation of players in the second showdown, but the three other examples all involved countries progressing to two finals in the space of 16 years, as Portugal have done.
Hungary also had first challenge thwarted by Italy at World Cup 1938, with West Germany taking responsibility for ruining their rematch at World Cup 1954, edging past them 3-2 despite Ferenc Puskas and co racing into a 2-0 lead in the opening eight minutes.
Yugoslavia were denied twice in the space of around eight years in the 1960s, and both times at the Euros rather than the World Cup, whereas all the other instances occurred at the latter. They were seen off in extra time in the first ever final against the Soviet Union in 1960 and then beaten in a replay by Italy in 1968.
The most famous runners-up of all time were perhaps the Netherlands side of the 1970s, who surrendered an advantage against rivals West Germany at World Cup 1974 and were then outperformed in extra time by Argentina four years later.
So Portugal are confronted with a zero-from-four strike rate when it comes to European teams seizing their second opportunity at tournament victory, though they will pinch consolation from being the first ones in this position in 38 years, perhaps creating distance between them and the past double failures.
The pair started for Portugal at Euro 2004 when they were the last host nation to participate in the final of a World Cup or European Championship. They would also become the first side to lose the final of one of those tournaments on home soil since Sweden at World Cup 1958, being beaten 1-0 by Greece.
Twelve years might not seem like that long to wait for a second chance, especially for a country who had never ventured that far in a competition before that summer, but there have been several near misses since, most notably runs to the semi-finals of World Cup 2006 and Euro 2012.
So now that they are back in the position that they assumed in 2004, one match away from glory, are they going to be able to atone for their error? A 13-match undefeated streak in competitive games since hiring expert international boss Fernando Santos and odds of 2.98 to lift the trophy say yes.
However, the historical precedents suggest that it is far more likely that France succeed where Portugal failed earlier this century and triumph in front of their fans at 1.50.
Four other European nations have fallen short in their first ever World Cup or European Championship final and later been granted a second shot at silverware. None of them took it.
Czechoslovakia followed up their 2-1 extra-time reverse to Italy at World Cup 1934 with a 3-1 loss to Brazil in Chile the next time that they reached a final at World Cup 1962.
Admittedly, there was a fairly hefty gap between those appearances, with them being represented by an entirely different generation of players in the second showdown, but the three other examples all involved countries progressing to two finals in the space of 16 years, as Portugal have done.
Hungary also had first challenge thwarted by Italy at World Cup 1938, with West Germany taking responsibility for ruining their rematch at World Cup 1954, edging past them 3-2 despite Ferenc Puskas and co racing into a 2-0 lead in the opening eight minutes.
Yugoslavia were denied twice in the space of around eight years in the 1960s, and both times at the Euros rather than the World Cup, whereas all the other instances occurred at the latter. They were seen off in extra time in the first ever final against the Soviet Union in 1960 and then beaten in a replay by Italy in 1968.
The most famous runners-up of all time were perhaps the Netherlands side of the 1970s, who surrendered an advantage against rivals West Germany at World Cup 1974 and were then outperformed in extra time by Argentina four years later.
So Portugal are confronted with a zero-from-four strike rate when it comes to European teams seizing their second opportunity at tournament victory, though they will pinch consolation from being the first ones in this position in 38 years, perhaps creating distance between them and the past double failures.