Euro 2024 Quarter finals: Mbappe battles goal drought Ronaldo… see team news, other details
The Quarter-finals of the Euro 2024 will see Portugal and France face off in a replay of the euro 2016 to determine who will reach the semi-finals.
After a lackluster performance by both teams in the round of 16, Portugal and France are eager to redeem themselves and establish their dominance as they vie for a spot in the semi-finals where Spain or Germany will present another challenge.
This is A Seleção’s ninth appearance at the European Championship since euro 1984, having previously reached the semifinals three times, most recently in 2012, before claiming their first title in 2016.
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Although they were eliminated in the Round of 16 in the last tournament, Diogo Costa’s exceptional goalkeeping in the penalty shootout against Slovenia enabled Portugal to advance to the quarter-finals this time around, prolonging Cristiano Ronaldo’s final Euro. Portugal qualified from group F as group leaders with just 2 goals difference.
France failed to secure top spot in Group D, finishing as runners-up behind group winners Austria with five points from one win and two draws in their three matches, narrowly
Les blues first euro appearances was in 1960 and they have played the tournament 11 times sice then. They have also won the European championships twice which was the 1984 edition that they hosted and the 2000 edition. They got the final of 2016 edition but was defeated by a Ronaldo led Portugal.
Portugal and France have a long history of competition, with 28 matches played between them since their first meeting in a 1926 friendly. France has held the upper hand, winning 19 times, while Portugal has secured six victories, with three matches ending in draws.
In recent encounters, France has won two, Portugal has won one, and two matches have ended in draws. Interestingly, four of the last five matches have seen only one team score, hinting at a defensive-minded matchup.
PORTUGAL vs FRANCE TEAM NEWS
Roberto Martinez is expected to maintain his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, which has been effective throughout the tournament. Cristiano Ronaldo, despite his recent penalty miss, will likely retain his position as the solo striker to make his 212th appearance for Portugal.
France will be forced to make at least one change to their lineup, as Adrien Rabiot is suspended due to accumulating two yellow cards in the tournament, including one in the Round of 16 victory over Belgium.
Manager Didier Deschamps has various options to replace Rabiot, including Ousmane Dembele, Eduardo Camavinga, Youssouf Fofana, or Warren Zaire-Emery, depending on the desired formation. The only other potential absentee is Kingsley Coman, who has temporarily left the team to attend the birth of his child.
Didier Deschamps will probably stick with his favoured 4 – 3 – 3 formation. With Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann on the wings, Randal Kolo Muani might replace Marcus Thuram up front.
PORTUGAL PREDICTED STARTING LINE-UP:
Costa, Cancelo, Dias, Pepe, Mendes, Palhinha, Vitinha, Silva, Fernandes, Leao, Ronaldo(C)
FRANCE PREDICTED STARTING LINE-UP:
Maignan, Kounde, Saliba, Upamecano, Hernandez, Kante, Tchouameni, Dembele, Griezmann, Mbappe (C), Kolo Muani
PORTUGAL VS FRANCE TIME AND VENUE
Kick-off date is Friday 5th July, 2024
Kick-off time is 8:00PM (WAT)
Venue: Volksparkstadion, Hamburg
Referee: Michael Oliver
VAR: David Coote
PORTUGAL VS FRANCE PREDICTION
We love the Mbappe vs Ronaldo comparison but at the end of the day, only one will go through to the semi-finals. So, Who will that be? Kylian Mbappe or Cristiano Ronaldo? Even though the latter has far more experience, the former has is in a better form.
This match is probably going to be low scoring with a lucky break or blunder to decide the winner because neither Portugal nor France have truly hit their best gear yet at Euro 2024.
France, has been such a formidable force in international competitions under Deschamps, so it is very likely that they might very well exact revenge in this rematch of the Euro 2016 final.
Portugal 1 vs France 2
Read more: Euro 2024 Quarter finals: Spain battles Germany… see team news, other details
