Another EURO 2024 quarter-final match was confirmed, after France beat Belgium and Portugal defeated Slovenia in the round of 16 on the night of July 1 and early morning of July 2 (Vietnam time).
In the first match last night, France beat Belgium 1-0 thanks to an own goal by Jan Vertonghen. Meanwhile, in the second match, Portugal were held to a 0-0 draw by Slovenia in 90 minutes of regulation time and 30 minutes of extra time, but won 3-0 in the penalty shootout thanks to the brilliance of goalkeeper Diogo Costa.
France and Portugal have met many times in major tournaments. France won the semi-finals of EURO 1984 and EURO 2000, and the semi-finals of the 2006 World Cup. Portugal won the final of EURO 2016, held in France.
The last time the two sides met in the group stages of EURO 2020, the match ended in a 2-2 draw and both sides progressed to the knockout stages. Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice from the penalty spot for Portugal in that match, while Karim Benzema also scored twice for France.
The upcoming match will be the first time Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe have met in the knockout stages of a major international tournament. At club level, they met in the round of 16 of the 2017-18 UEFA Champions League, where Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Madrid beat Mbappe’s PSG 5-2 on aggregate.
Many believe that Cristiano Ronaldo is Mbappe’s idol, as some photos show the 25-year-old striker hanging many posters of the Real Madrid legend in his room. Mbappe also visited Real Madrid in 2013 to visit the facilities and have a trial, where he was photographed with Ronaldo.
In addition to the France vs Portugal match, two other matches have also been determined at EURO including Spain – Germany and England – Switzerland. Tonight (Vietnam time), the final match of
