Portugal v Holland
History may suggest the time has come for the hosts to bow out of this European Championship but when the Portuguese take on the Dutch at the Alvalade stadium in Lisbon this evening, for a place in Sunday's final, a nation of 10 million will be willing the country's 21st century heroes to emulate those of times past by bravely moving forward into previously uncharted waters.
The precedents, though, are strong. Not since 1984 has the nation hosting this tournament either fallen by the wayside before the semi-final stage or progressed past it. Luiz Felipe Scolari, like the team's supporters, would prefer no doubt to look back 20 years and follow the lead of the French who were the last country to lift the title on home soil.
To do so "Big Phil", as the Brazilian coach is commonly known, will also have to guide Portugal to the country's first appearance in a major championship final. On three previous occasions they have fallen at the penultimate hurdle and failure this evening will surely mean the end of the road for the remnants of the "golden generation", a group of players that sprang to prominence in a World Youth final more than a decade ago and a group which most supporters here have since been convinced was destined for greatness on the international stage.
Perhaps the greatest of them all, Luis Figo, insisted yesterday he and his team-mates are capable of seizing what appears to be their best, and probably last, chance of achieving a major success by winning this evening and going on to triumph this Sunday on the stage where the legend was born, a little more than a mile up the road at the city's Stadium of Light.
"This is still a great opportunity for us to reach a final," he said, "and I know we'll do everything we can to achieve it. We have 90 minutes to win a difficult game and I believe that we will do it."
Figo's place in Portugal's starting line-up this evening's is not assured after his display of petulance last week when, after being substituted with a quarter of an hour of normal time remaining against England, he made straight for the dressing-room rather than the bench. The ovation the 31-year-old was receiving from fans promptly came to an end as he disappeared into the tunnel and there was widespread anger afterwards when he did not even re-emerge for the penalty shoot-out or the celebrations that followed.
Scolari, though, has shown himself to be a talented man-manager since taking over the side and seems likely, having shrugged off the incident and claimed, somewhat generously, that Figo spent his time in the dressing-room on his knees praying for the team's success, to retain the star's services for this evening's game.
The Brazilian, indeed, may stick with the team that started against England after Jorge Andrade and Nuno Gomes both shrugged off ankle injuries and showed they are capable of playing.
Gomes looks the most vulnerable to replacement, with Scolari having previously preferred Pauleta to the Benfica striker when both were available. The 31-year-old's form was fairly awful prior to his suspension for the England match, however, and restoring him now looks to be a gamble the coach may choose to avoid.
The Dutch, meanwhile, will be without Frank De Boer whose involvement in the tournament has been ended by ankle ligament damage. Wilfred Bouma will partner Jaap Stam in the centre of the team's defence, while Marc Overmars may be chosen ahead of Andy van der Meyde, who had a disappointing game against the Swedes.
Like Scolari, Dick Advocaat insisted yesterday his side had achieved its pre-tournament target by reaching the last four and that anything more should be regarded as a considerable achievement.
"Everybody is always talking about the big teams, England, Germany, France but they are all gone home," he said, "while we, as usual, are still here. To go further, though, will be difficult and it is a hard match to predict although we believe we can win."
Both sides have enjoyed the lion's share of possession in each of their previous games and so something will have to give this time. The Portuguese will hope, reasonably enough, that the Dutch full-backs are less effective at containing their wide men, Figo and Ronaldo, than the English were but then, Advocaat will presumably look forward to his side giving the hosts a little more to think about defensively than Sven-Goran Eriksson's ever managed to. "It will be," says Fernando Couto, "a very interesting match." One he and the rest of Portugal hopes will provide the basis for a glorious new chapter in the country's footballing history.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
PORTUGAL (4-3-3):Ricardo; Miguel, Carvalho, Andrade, Valente; Costinha, Maniche, Deco; Figo, Ronaldo, Gomes
HOLLAND (4-3-3):van der Sar; Reiziger, Bouma, Stam, van Bronckhorst; Seedorf, Davids, Cocu; van der Meyde, van Nistelrooy, Robben
Referee:Anders Frisk (Sweden)