It was their first win at this level and helped banish memories of their last disastrous outing in a major tournament in the 1994 World Cup in which they failed to either register a point or score.

Striker Zisis Vryzas hailed the way the Greeks had stuck together to defy the hosts and claimed it was down to the war-like mentality instilled by Rehhagel, who is a national hero in his adopted country.

“We are all very emotional after this result which is a great day for us,” said Vryzas, who plays for Fiorentina in Italy’s Serie B.

“But there is a long way to go and now we must start thinking about our next game. We are the outsiders, we have won and we are proud of our football – we showed what we are capable of.

“This was a very hard game. We needed strong and hard players – we were ready to go to war and we have everything we asked for,” Vryzas saidl.

“Our coach prepared us for this.”

Full-back Panagiotis Fyssas was elated with the win on the day he turned 31 and in the country where he plays his professional football with Benfica.

“It was a nice birthday present, I am very happy and this is a great day. I am very happy for my team-mates and for the joy we have given our compatriots,” said Fyssas.

Goalkeeper Antonios Nikopolidis hailed the hard work of his defence and spent most of the match as a spectator before a hectic finale when Portugal finally began to create some opportunities and – like Vryzas – hailed the focus instilled by Rehhagel.

“We were able to deal with Portugal’s attack,” he said. “We played with great concentration and that’s why we won.”

Skipper Theo Zagorakis epitomised the battling qualities of his team and received the UEFA man-of-the-match award after the match.

He told PA International: “I want to win every game I play in but I am very happy to win this one – it is different for us to win at this level and playing at this level is something new for most of us so we are really pleased with this result.

“We want to go further in this competition and now we must start thinking about our next match.”

Central defender Traianos Dellas agreed, saying: “We must start thinking about the next game now but certainly this result will stay in our memories for a very long time.”

Rehhagel was visibly delighted with the way his men performed on the big stage and declared the win was “one of the best of my career”.

That is quite a statement as the German has won the Bundesliga with both Werder Bremen and Kaiserslautern in what has been a glittering career.

Already given honorary Greek citizenship by the government for steering Greece to the tournament, Rehhagel admitted he did not know what would be his reward for this achievement.

“People come up to me in the street and say “hi”,” said Rehhagel.

“I am the only man in Athens who is allowed to drive in the bus lane. I don’t know what will happen now.”