Portugal vs France: prediction, preview, team news and more / UEFA Euro 2020
Two European powerhouses clash in Group F of Euro 2020 as defending champions Portugal take on France at the Ferenc Puskas Stadium on Wednesday.
Five years after doing battle on the biggest continental stage of them all, reigning European champions Portugal renew hostilities with 2016 runners-up France for their final game of Euro 2020 Group F on Wednesday.
Group F was blown wide open at the weekend, when a 4-2 victory for Germany over Portugal put all the pressure onto the holders. The Germans are expected to do enough in their final game to make the last 16, but Portugal need at least another point and they face tournament favourites France.
Portugal are undefeated in 15 of their last 17 matches.
Portugal will aim to quickly move on from their heavy defeat against Germany, while France head into the game following a 1-1 draw with Hungary.
They quickly came crashing back to earth as they suffered a disappointing 4-2 defeat at the hands of Germany last time out.
After Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring, the Germans upped the ante and hit back with four goals of their own to leave Portugal trailing in their wake.
This saw Germany pick up their first win of the tournament and leapfrog Fernando Santos’ men into second place on goal difference, one point behind group leaders France.
France, on the other hand, failed to book their place in the knockout stages in their most recent game as they were held to a 1-1 draw by a resilient Hungary side.
While the result saw France’s five-game winning streak come to an end, they remain unbeaten in their last nine outings across all competitions.
Portugal vs France Predictions:
- Portugal are undefeated in 15 of their last 17 matches (all competitions).
- Portugal have kept 3 clean sheets in their last 4 matches (all competitions).
- Portugal have drawn 7 of their last 10 matches (European Championship).
- Portugal have drawn 2 of their last 3 matches against France (all competitions).
- Portugal have seen under 1.5 goals in their last 4 matches against France (all competitions).
- France are undefeated in their last 9 matches (all competitions).
- France have kept 5 clean sheets in their last 6 matches (all competitions).
- France have drawn 2 of their last 3 matches (European Championship).
- France have won seven of their last nine games.
- Both teams have scored in four of Portugal’s last six competitive matches.
This is the fifth major tournament meeting between the sides – but the first time they have met in the group stages. All four previous encounters took place in the semis (Euro 1984, Euro 2000, 2006 World Cup) or final (Euro 2016). France won the first three while Portugal won in 2016.
France have a clear upper hand in the history of this fixture, claiming 19 wins from 27 games against Portugal. The Seleção have picked up six wins, while two games have ended in draws.
The ‘Group of Death’ promises another entertaining and nerve-racking game on Wednesday. With a place in the knockout stages potentially at stake for both sides, we expect Portugal and France to take the game to each other in search of all three points.
Games between these two European powerhouses have often been low-scoring affairs in the past, though, and just as they did in the Nations League, we can envisage France bouncing back from their underwhelming result last time out to leave Portugal holding their breath regarding last-16 qualification.
While they both possess a star-studded squad, France have been dominant in this fixture and appear more solid ahead of the game.
Our prediction: France win @ 2.20
