Football
The semi-final clash between Portugal and France has not yet produced a goal. Ronaldo is invisible
The second quarter-final match of the 17th European Football Championship has not yet produced a goal. Portugal is also playing France without goals because of the invisible Ronaldo.
The second quarter-final match of the 17th European Football Championship has not yet produced a goal. Portugal is also playing France without goals because of the invisible Ronaldo.
Friday’s European Championship programme pitted some of the favourites for overall victory against each other. Spain and Germany played an early evening match and the Iberians won 2-1 in extra time.
The evening match pitted the winner of the “Czech” Group F, Portugal, against the two-time European champion from France. Didier Deschamps’ charges were the paper favourites, but there has been no shortage of surprises in Germany so far in the championship.
Roberto Martinez fielded his usual line-up including two veterans Pepe and Ronaldo for the crucial clash. One of the biggest stars of recent decades was not much in the game in the first part of the match. The French kept Ronaldo at bay.
And that was thanks to the Upamecano-Saliba midfield pairing, who played at number one. In addition, their AC Milan teammate Theo Hernández sent the first successful shot on target. Portugal’s defence also tried to regularly frustrate the star Kylian Mbappé.
The victorious team’s opponent will be a strong Spain
Both teams already knew during the match that their eventual semi-final opponent would be Spain. Accordingly, the game also looked as if neither team was completely rushing to play against the team that has been showing the best football so far in the championship.
The Portuguese game was orchestrated by Manchester United playmaker Bruno Fernandes and his teammate Bernando Silva. The latter plays for the more successful city rival Manchester City in recent years.
The first half of the match offered a number of interesting football moments, but no goal has yet fallen. Who will eventually challenge Spain in the semi-finals is still in the balance.
Source: CT Sport, UEFA.com