France came out quickly, but Portugal have been on top in the last few minutes, working the ball from side to side in a bid to create space. France are sitting deep at the moment.
Martinez’s side will be looking to settle into this contest. Ronaldo has an early touch and zips a pass into the feet of Mendes, who advances down the left. It is worked into the France box, but the Blues stand strong and manage to force Portugal back.
Decent start from France here. The Blues are on the front foot, with Portugal having to sit deep in the early exchanges. Griezmann is playing as the 10, as expected.
Let’s hope for an absolute cracker here.
Ok, it’s just about that time. The handshakes have been completed. The players are ready. It is Portugal against France for the right to play Spain in the semi-finals.
Now Portugal. You can feel the emotion here.
Time for the national anthems. France are up first.
Little over five minutes until kickoff in Hamburg, and the players will soon emerge from the tunnel. You do get the feeling that the first goal could be crucial here. There are also so many stories that could emerge from this match. Will it be Ronaldo’s final appearance at a European Championship? Or will he be the hero?
France will seemingly play a midfield diamond tonight, with Griezmann operating behind Mbappe and Kolo Muani. The midfield battle will be fascinating here, as there are so many wonderful players, including a certain N’Golo Kante. This match could well be won or lost in the middle of the park.
“It’s the admiration I’ve always had for Cristiano, for the player. Over time, I’ve had the chance to get to know him and talk to him many times. We’re still in touch,” Mbappe told reporters.
“He’s always trying to give me advice and keep up to date with what’s going on. Playing against him is an honour for everything he’s done in football.
“No matter what happened before or what happens after, he’ll always be a legend of the game. But of course we hope to win and reach the semi-finals.”
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Portugal will need to be better then they were against Slovenia if they are to advance to the semi-finals of the competition. Diogo Costa was brilliant for Martinez’s side during the penalty shootout, and Ronaldo also scored after missing during extra-time. Diogo Jota was mentioned as a possible replacement, but Ronaldo keep his spot.
“One of the reasons [for sticking with the same XI] is that we want to give continuity. Keeping the partnerships is important. We are refreshed. After the four games, we’ve been very focused, the feeling in training has been very good. We want to play a good game in this quarter-final and be the best version of what we can be. We can improve what we’ve done, but we need to carry on the good things that we did,” he told reporter Carlos Machado.
Portugal needed a penalty shootout to beat Slovenia in the last-16 stage of the competition, while France recorded a 1-0 victory over Belgium. Neither side were convincing, and it would not be a shock to see this match go all the way to penalties. A 0-0 cannot be ruled out, but let’s hope that it is a game full of goals.
Spain vs. France.
Both sound excellent to be fair.
Spain will take some beating, but they will be without some key players for the semi-final, including Dani Carvajal, who was sent off late on against Germany.
We’ll have reaction from that contest on the site, but for now, let’s focus on this titanic battle, as kickoff is now under 20 minutes away!
La Roja beat tournament hosts Germany 2-1 to progress to the semi-finals. Portugal or France will tackle Luis de la Fuente’s side in the final four. Incredible scenes.
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As for France, head coach Didier Deschamps has made two changes to the side that started the last-16 game with Belgium. Adrien Rabiot is suspended, which has opened the door for Eduardo Camavinga to start, while Randal Kolo Muani has replaced Marcus Thuram in the final third of the field. There is also a spot in the XI for a certain Kylian Mbappe.
As expected, Portugal are unchanged from their last-16 clash with Slovenia. There had been suggestions that Cristiano Ronaldo could be dropped, but in truth, it was never a serious possibility. Ronaldo again leads the line – could this be the match where he becomes the oldest goalscorer in the history of the European Championship?
SUBS: Samba, Areola, Pavard, Mendy, Giroud, Dembele, Thuram, Zaire-Emery, Fofana, Coman, Clauss, Konate, Barcola
SUBS: Patricio, Sa, Semedo, Dalot, Ramos, Felix, Danilo, Inacio, J Neves, Nunes, R Neves, Jota, A Silva, Neto, Conceicao
SPAIN HAVE JUST SCORED! 2-1! LA ROJA ARE HEADING INTO THE SEMI-FINALS OF EURO 2024!