Portugal Reach Europe Qualifier After 57-Run Win Over Spain

Portugal have taken the last place at next year's ICC Men's T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier, beating Spain by 57 runs in the Sub-Regional Qualifier C final at the Kerava National Cricket Ground in Finland on Friday. Portugal made 160 for 6. Spain were bowled out for 103.

Portugal are captained by Moises Henriques. The former Australia all-rounder switched allegiance this year to the country of his birth. Teddy Edward Fleming was named player of the match. His four overs cost 13 runs and brought three wickets.

Fleming breaks the Spain chase

Spain needed 161. They lasted 17.1 overs. Fleming did the damage and Spain never rebuilt. They had arrived at the final unbeaten, with four group wins. One was a nine-wicket victory over Bulgaria.

Portugal's unbeaten run in Finland

Portugal won every match they played. The biggest margin came against Czechia. That game was at the Tikkurila Cricket Ground in Vantaa, where Henriques hit 111 from 51 balls and Portugal posted 211 for 6. Rain arrived with Czechia 24 for 5 after 8.5 overs. Portugal took it by 91 runs on DLS.

Going into the final, the ICC had Henriques as the tournament's leading run-scorer with 178 from three innings. Portugal seamer Sebastian Cruz de Oliveira led the wicket-takers with nine from four matches. Ten teams contested the qualifier across two grounds in Finland between 14 and 21 August.

The last place in the Europe Qualifier

Qualifier C was Europe's third and final sub-regional event. Portugal took the last spot available. The ICC confirmed the rest of the field before the tournament began:

• Jersey, winners of Sub-Regional Qualifier A in Cyprus
• Denmark, winners of Sub-Regional Qualifier B on home soil
• Scotland, given direct entry by the ICC in recognition of the circumstances around their 2026 participation
• Portugal, winners of Sub-Regional Qualifier C in Finland

Italy and the Netherlands sit outside that field. Both go straight to the Global Qualifier, the last step before the T20 World Cup 2028 in Australia and New Zealand.

Henriques and the Italy template

Henriques played 44 matches for Australia across the three formats between 2009 and 2021. He also captained Australia at the 2006 Under-19 World Cup. He retired from first-class cricket in Australia earlier this year. He qualifies for Portugal by birth.

He set the target out before a ball was bowled in Finland. "Obviously, the ideal, the nirvana, would be to replicate what Italy have done," he told the ICC. Italy made their T20 World Cup debut earlier this year under Joe Burns, another former Australia batter.

Henriques was careful about the timeline. "Whether that's realistic for this World Cup, or the following, I don't know. We'll only be able to tell in a couple games," he said. On the players he inherited: "I was quietly and pleasantly surprised with the quality of cricketers that we've got in the team."