Portugal and France will meet in Hamburg on Friday in an exciting EURO 2024 quarter-final, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe once again taking centre stage.
( MORE: Schedule and tournament tree for EURO 2024 )
Roberto Martinez’ Portugal beat Slovenia on penalties in the round of 16 Ronaldo had a penalty saved in extra time that left him in tears, but Portugal’s hero of the night was goalkeeper Diogo Costa, who saved all three of Slovenia’s penalties in the shootout. This Portuguese side is immensely talented and although Ronaldo is still their main man up front, they have so many other talents like Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Diogo Jota and Rafael Leao backing up their experienced talisman.
France was sluggish but managed to beat Belgium in the round of 16 as Didier Deschamps’ side are not yet at their best. They have two own goals and a penalty in their first four games of the tournament and all eyes will be on Kylian Mbappe, who is not yet at his best after breaking his nose. France have looked solid in defence, N’Golo Kante and William Saliba are excellent and it looks like this game, a repeat of the EURO 2016 final, will be won in midfield.
How to watch Portugal vs FranceStream link and start time
Begin: 3:00 p.m. ET, Friday (July 5)
Stadion: Volksparkstadion, Hamburg
How to watch and stream on TV in the USA: Fox Sports
News and focus on the Portuguese team
The main problem for Portugal is that they need to stop allowing big chances on the counterattack. That has been happening all tournament and Costa helped them against Slovenia. Experienced defender Pepe was excellent and will likely start again given their lack of options in central defence. Portugal have so many attacking options given that Joao Felix, Pedro Neto and Goncalo Ramos did not even come on as substitutes in the round of 16.
News about the French team, focus
There will be at least one change to Deschamps, with Adrien Rabiot suspended for this quarter-final due to multiple yellow cards. That means Eduardo Camavinga is likely to start in central midfield alongside Kante and Aurelien Tchouameni. France’s back four is extremely solid, and Mike Maignan made some brilliant saves in goal against Belgium. The key for France is to continue to create big chances, and the next step now is to play more purposefully, getting Mbappe on the ball as often as possible while Antoine Griezmann is nearby.
Prediction Portugal vs France
This seems to be one game too many for Portugal. They have outstanding quality in attack, but so does France, and Les Bleus also look more solid in defence. Portugal – France 0:1.
