France vs Portugal 2020
Facing each other for the first time since Eder proved himself Portugal’s unlikely hero in the Euro 2016 final in the same venue, a pair of stellar attacks found no way to take on similar elite defenses.
Euro 2016 hangover
Didier Deschamps’ hosts, backed by 1,000 socially separated fans within the cavernous arena, were unable to reposition the form of free goals that saw them demolish Ukraine 7-1 in a weeknight-friendly.
Summary of the match
Portugal followed their 0-0 draw against Spain with another draw, though Pepe thought he had headed in a winning goal in the 74th minute, only to see the offside flag fly. Lucas Hernández made a final block to deny Cristiano Ronaldo at the end of Bernardo Silva’s skillful play in the 24th minute; The initial exchanges were easy on the eyes without giving much in scoring action.
Antoine Griezmann stepped between Ruben Dias and Raphael Guerreiro clung to Paul Pogba’s floating pass and shot Hugo Lloris, while Joao Félix provoked the ire of Ronaldo on the other end by launching on a Bruno Fernandes free-kick to deflect it from the Juventus. Superstar. This was the best chance for Portugal to gain upper hand in the scoreline. Joao Felix instead of throwing a leg to it should have seen who was there to cover the ball. This became a costly mistake as there were no close chances thereafter!
Kylian Mbappé sought to open the match early in the second half, beating Danilo Pereira with brilliant skill, but Rui Patricio saved his effort well. Interestingly, Ronaldo misjudged a half-volley attempt from Guerreiro’s search center and it was an infallible set-piece delivery from the Borussia Dortmund man who chose a hunched-over Pepe, whose celebrations were correctly interrupted.
Editors Pick :
- Ronaldo 101 – Portugal star’s Mesmerizing century – UEFA Nations League 2020
- UEFA Super Cup 2020 – FC Bayern Munich clinches Quadruple!!
- Treble winners in the history of Football so far – ft. 7 famous and dominant clubs!!
A more familiar match-winner almost appeared in injury time, but Lloris came down sharply to repel Ronaldo at his first post. All to play in the second leg Despite the lack of a decisive moment, this was a high-class encounter with some of Europe’s best talent that attracted attention. Portugal and France have seven points from their three games and expect them to add three more each before meeting again next month.
Fanboy moment
Most of the France players posted a picture with the G.O.A.T Cristiano Ronaldo. Mbappe, who is currently rated as the best young player shared a moment with Ronaldo before the start of the second half. Raphael Varane and many other stars shared their best moment of the match with Cristiano. However, Pogba has deleted the post and this made fans go crazy!!