France v Portugal - 2000
Tournament form:
France : Group – 2-1 v
Romania, 2-0 v Albania, 0-0 v Switzerland; Knockout – 2-1 v Ireland, 5-2 v
Iceland, 2-0 v Germany
Portugal: Group – 1-1 v
Iceland, 0-0 v Austria, 3-3 v Hungary; Knockout – 1-0 v Croatia (aet), 1-1 (5-3
on pens) v Poland, 2-0 v Wales
Typical odds: France 4-9,
Portugal 15-8
Leading goalscorers: France
– Antoine Griezmann 6; Portugal – Cristiano Ronaldo 3, Nani 3
Previous European
Championship wins: France – 1984, 2000; Portugal have never won, and were
runners-up in 2004
So a month of sometimes
exhilarating and sometimes cagey football comes to an end. The fact that 16 of
24 teams qualified from the group stage is one of the reasons as to why the tournament
may often have been less than exciting, and one of the teams who only made it
through to the knockout stage as one of the best third placed teams have made
the final.
Portugal got through the
group stages with three draws, and Wednesday’s semi-final win over Wales was
the first time they had got the better of a team over 90 minutes. The most
optimistic sign for Portugal is that they seem to be peaking at the right time,
and their performances are getting better with every game.
Cristiano Ronaldo is
unquestionably one of the best players, if not the player, of his generation,
so will he be able to celebrate success in a major international tournament for
the first time?
The answer is probably
not, and that France certainly start as favourites. Another hugely passionate
crowd will pack the Stade de France hoping to see their country repeat their
triumphs as hosts of Euro 84 and World Cup 98.
In Antoine Griezmann,
France have a player in the form of his life who has scored almost half of
their 13 goals to date. Olivier Giroud and Dimitri Payet have also scored three
goals.
While France have been
banging in the goals, their defensive record of conceding just four goals in
six matches is also highly creditable.
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