Portugal vs France Prediction & Betting Tips - Euro

Prediction published on 20/06/2021, 11:31  by Daniel Ngulu | Modified on 23/06/2021 at 05:37 in Euro Prediction

A repeat of the 2016 European Championship final is here with us as Portugal, the holders take on France, the world champions in the final Group F game. The clash at the Puskas Arena pits the teams that feature high among the tournament favorites. One point separates them with Portugal on three and France on four. Portugal are coming from a 4-2 loss at the hands of Germany, a game in which their weaknesses were really exposed. As an attacking side, Portugal are very strong, and only Italy have scored more than them after two rounds in the group stages. Germany had a stark reminder of that too. However, at the back, the holders have a lot of issues and it doesn’t help that defensive midfielder William Carvalho lacks in speed. Two own goals against Germany, and despite fielding two defensive minded midfielders showed just how much the Portuguese lack in defensive muscle and against France they will be really tested. Seven of their last 10 matches have produced over 2.5 goals while in their last seven competitive matches, Portugal have managed clean sheets in just two.

France had a massive scare against Hungary after going down 1-0 in the first half of their second match in Group F. They managed to level but at the end, even a draw didn’t seem deserved. They have a lot to do going to the Portugal game, with the holders needing at least a draw to get past the group stages. A France side that seemed dominant against Germany in the opening game, and even had two goals disallowed as well as limiting Germany to few chances, looked underwhelming against Hungary. Karim Benzema lacked urgency and Kylian Mbappe’s dribbles were stifled even before he could get into second gear. It is expected a few changes will be made in attack, with Olivier Giroud a favorite to start against Portugal, and France should be able to take advantage of a shaky Portugal defence. While France remain unbeaten in nine matches, the draw with Hungary ended their run of five straight clean sheets. They’ve managed to score in each of their last nine matches.