Portugal: Iberian Newbies (Francisco Neto and Claudia Neto interviews)

Portugal reach a first senior Women’s Euro and their coach asks only that they battle from first whistle to last and show pride in the shirt. Francisco Neto, in charge since February 2014, names Germany as clear favourites after six straight titles, then England and France, and rates Spain as contenders on the strength of their qualifying. He defines his team by two matches: the home win over Finland that kept a play-off place alive and produced perhaps their best performance, and the grit shown in the play-off against Romania. Captain Claudia Neto, over a hundred caps and a Swedish title winner with Linkoping, calls the finals the dream of several generations of Portuguese women footballers and describes herself simply as a midfielder who never gives up.