Having faced Germany and France in the group stage at the EURO 2020, Portugal won’t get any time to relax with Belgium their next opponent in the Round of 16.
Bookmaker 10Bet has the odds at 3.05 for Portugal to win the match and at 2.15 for them to qualify for the next round. The odds are at 1.71 for Belgium to advance and at 2.50 for them to win in 90 minutes.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: June 26th, 8:00 A.M. (EST)
The defending champions started off great in the “Group of Death” by beating Hungary 3-0 and taking a lead against Germany, but their game plan suddenly collapsed and a 2-4 loss followed. A 2-2 draw in the final group game against France looks like a positive result, but Portugal needed two penalties to secure a point.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been killing it at the tournament so far with five goals, but he’ll surely need more help as the games are set to get tougher and tougher. The team’s defense also needs some serious work.
Fernando Santos built his side’s success on a solid defensive shape five years ago, but Portugal have looked fragile at the back this year by giving up six goals and 15 shots on target in three games.
Ruben Dias completely transformed Manchester City’s defense this season, but his impact on the national side hasn’t been close to being the same. However, against Belgium, he should at least know all of Kevin De Bruyne’s tricks.
De Bruyne missed the start of the tournament with a broken cheekbone, but he made a spectacular entrance in a comeback win against Denmark notching a goal and an assist off the bench. Another assist followed in a 2-0 victory over Finland and it seems safe to say that the two-time PFA Player of the Year has no issues with his form.
Portugal needs to slow down De Bruyne and cut off the supply line to Romelu Lukaku who has already netted three times at the tournament. The two have played an integral role in the team’s current 12-match unbeaten run.
Only a few teams have managed to match Belgium in recent years with Roberto Martinez’s men boasting 22 wins from their last 26 outings. They always seem to score and it’s very hard to score against them as Belgium are rarely careless with the ball and stay very organized at the back.
Portugal’s best opportunities will likely come from quick transitions from defense to offense and they have to make good use of these types of situations. Ronaldo ended up finishing off one wonderful counter-attacking move against Germany but scoring once likely won’t be enough to beat the Red Devils.
