Portugal would catch the eye with their fine performances at the European Championships in 2000, but getting there in the first place was a tough task for coach Humberto Coelho and his golden generation of stars.

The qualification campaign took place mostly over 1999 and saw a titanic struggle between Portugal and Romania to top the group. João Pinto, Rui Costa, Ricardo Sá Pinto and Luis Figo were all regular scorers over the campaign as Portugal finished a point adrift of the Romanians thanks to a last-minute home defeat to their rivals. Portugals's strong record over the qualifying campaign as a whole meant they finished as the best runner-up and so qualified without the extra drama of a play-off.