BATTLING it out for a place in the semi-finals of Euro 2024, Portugal and France face off at the Volksparkstadion on Friday night.
Both nations were among the bookmakers pre-tournament favourites to lift the trophy but neither side have managed to click into top gear thus far.
Portugal reached the last eight of the competition by the skin of their teeth, with Roberto Martinez’s side needing penalties to scramble their way past a spirited Slovenia outfit.
After failing to score from the spot in extra-time, Cristiano Ronaldo had to be consoled by his teammates, though the Selecao skipper would later go on to convert his spot kick during the subsequent penalty shootout.
As for France, they battled their way to a 1-0 win over Belgium on Monday, with a late own goal by Jan Vertonghen proving decisive.
Didier Deschamps' side have looked far from the real deal so far but they do have major tournament pedigree, and they will be quietly confident about dispatching Portugal.
How the bookies view it: French fancied to progress
France are 7/5 favourites on Betfred to book a place in the semi-finals of Euro 2024 without the need for extra-time or penalties.
Portugal are 23/10 outsiders with Betfred while a second successive stalemate involving the Selecao has been priced up at 2/1 with the same firm.
Head to head: History favours the French
France hold the upper hand when it comes to the overall head-to-head record, with Les Bleus claiming top honours from 19 of the 28 meetings to date.
The two nations crossed paths during the group stage of Euro 2020. That fixture ended in a 2-2 draw, with three of the four match goals coming from the penalty spot.
Players to watch: Griezmann to have a go?
I backed Antonie Griezmann to register a shot on target against the Netherlands and he duly delivered. In fact, the Atletico Madrid man worked Dutch goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen on no fewer than three occasions that night. Given that Griezmann has since chipped in with another on-target effort against Belgium last time out, the Frenchman stands out to hit the target just once against Portugal at even-money on Betfred.
Cristiano Ronaldo – who extended his Euro 2024 goal-drought to four games against Slovenia – is 2/1 on Betfred to find the back of the net against France.
Predicted line-ups
Portugal boss Roberto Martinez is expected to resist calls for Cristiano Ronaldo to be dropped and is expected to stick with the same starting XI in Hamburg on Friday night.
After picking up his second yellow card of the tournament against Belgium, Adrien Rabiot will miss out for France on Friday night due to suspension.
Portugal Costa; Cancelo, Dias, Pepe, Mendes; Palhinha, Vitinha; Silva, Fernandes, Leao; Ronaldo
France: Maignan; Kounde, Saliba, Upamecano, Hernandez; Kante, Tchouameni; Dembele, Griezmann, Mbappe; Kolo Muani
Anything else catch the eye?
N'Golo Kante has been one of France's most impressive performers at Euro 2024 and he stands out to commit two or more fouls during this tie at 10/11 via Betfred’s #PickYourPunt feature.
Kante has averaged 1.25 fouls per-game across his four appearances at Euro 2024 to date and he should have his work cut out on Friday night given the wealth of attacking talent within the Portuguese ranks.
The all-action Frenchman committed two fouls against the Netherlands on matchday two and we’re getting a nice price on a repeat here at a shade under even-money with Betfred.
Betfred boosted odds for Portugal v France
As the match kickoff grows closer, Betfred offers more and more price boosts, so let's take a look at the ones you can find on their site right now.
The first boosted price is for France To Win In 90 Minutes & Both Teams To Score, which has gone up from 9/2 to 11/2. We also have a couple of Anytime Goalscorer markets boosted, for Kylian Mbappe (from 7/4 to 9/4) and Cristiano Ronaldo (from 2/1 to 5/2). Keep in mind that this also includes extra time, if the match goes there.
In addition to these, Betfred also offers a #PickYourPunt Builder Boosts, which offers better price on pre-selected bet builders:
- Kylian Mbappe To Score & Bruno Fernandes 1+ Shots On Target: 9/2>>11/2
- France To Win, Portugal 30+ Booking Points & Joao Palhinha 2+ Fouls Committed: 9/2>>6/1
It's important to note that when it comes to Booking Points, yellow cards are worth 10 and red cards 25 points.
This Euro 2024 match between Portugal and France will be played on Jul 5, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Portugal vs France prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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