Portugal out to spoil French Euro party

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo scores their first goal during Euro 2016 Semi-final against Wales at Stade de Lyon, in Lyon, France on Wednesday, July 6, 2016.

London Evening Standard Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal will face France in the Euro 2016 final after the tournament hosts beat world champions Germany 2-0 on Thursday evening.

What’s more, Les Bleus have won their last ten matches against Portugal – the last win for the Lusitanians dates all the way back to 1975 – and France boss Didier Deschamps, who is tipped to stick with the starting line-up that bested Germany – has every faith in his side.

Portugal will try to erase the harsh memories of the Euro 2004 final defeat to Greece, which left skipper Ronaldo crying on the pitch.

Portugal coach Fernando Santos on Saturday termed host France as the favorite but expected his side to win Sunday’s final of Euro 2016.

Ronaldo has only scored in two of Portugal’s six games in France, and yet he is only one goal away from scoring a 10th European Championship goal and breaking Michel Platini’s 32-year record.

Griezmann, 25, is the tournament’s top scorer and is bidding to deliver success for the home nation in his first major global final. They’ve looked vulnerable to counterattacks, so the French players will need to be aware of this, and not over-commit and give Ronaldo chances to break one-on-one.

“You can see that very clearly – we can see that because we are now experiencing it”. The 41-year-old officiated the Champions League and FA Cup finals in May, receiving criticism in some quarters for his performance during the latter.

Portugal muddled through the group stage with three draws, downed Croatia with a last-gasp extra-time victor and got past Poland on penalties before beating Wales 2-0 in the semi-final.

It has been a tumultuous time politically under the Second Valls Government, too, with a likely divisive election slated for next year. Pepe said Portugal were strong because they want to win. “We have a guy that can make us win again, why not?” “There are two men in for the Ballon d’Or – its between him and Messi”, said Deschamps at a press conference at the Stade de France yesterday.

Captain and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris called for a team effort to stop Ronaldo but Deschamps also said that it is nearly impossible to take him out of the match completely.

And Deschamps, who captained France to World Cup glory in 1998, admitted that his team were forced to battle all the way against the Germans in order to bring joy to the nation.

But Pepe, 33, took a full part in yesterday’s exercises which were witnessed by reporters during the 15 minutes in which training was open to the media and he appeared to be ready to face hosts France.

There could well be a tough game ahead for them against Portugal, who have shown themselves to be incredibly frustrating opponents and very well-organised defensively.