Belgium-Portugal can probably the toughest match of Round of 16 apart from perhaps England-Germany. The two sides have reached the last with contrasting fortunes.
Belgium dominated group stages, winning there three matches, while Portugal survived group of death ‘Group F' comprising France, Germany and Hungary. Portugal’s talisman striker Cristiano Ronaldo led from the front, creating new scoring records. He became the highest scorer in Euro 2020. He scored two goals against France and that took him to 109 goals in international matches. He is now tied for the all-time men's record with former Iran striker Ali Daei.
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Belgium saw the return of Eden Hazard from injury giving them a major boost ahead of round of 16 matches.
Portugal coach Fernando Santos praised Belgium but said the team also struggled, especially in the come-from-behind win over Denmark when the top-ranked FIFA team was held to only six attempts.
"I'm not going to talk about their weaknesses now because I don't want them to know what I’m thinking,” Portugal coach Fernando Santos said. "But there are things we can explore. The game against Denmark showed some of their weaknesses."
Road To Last 16
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Belgium started with a 3-0 win over Russia, before securing a come from behind 2-1 win over Denmark. Then beat Finland 2-0 to secure passage to last 16.
Portugal on the other hand defeated Hungary 3-0 but then ran into Germany. Germany, jilted from a 0-1 loss to France went into an all attack mode. Portugal lost 2-4 with two own-goals.
They came back to hold France to a 2-2 draw in their last league match.
Key Facts
~ Belgium, Portugal face each other first time in a major tournament.
~ Portugal have an unbeaten record extending to five matches against Belgium across all competitions
~ Belgium have managed to reach the knockout stages in each of their last five appearances at a major football tournament
~ Cristiano Ronaldo is not only the top-scoring European player but is tied at 109 international goals with former Iran striker Ali Daei.
~ Kevin De Bruyne has played just 134 minutes so far but has managed to assist three of Belgium’s seven goals at EURO 2020. He has scored once and has two assists.
Match and telecast details
Match: Euro 2020, round of 16 match between Belgium and Portugal
Date: June 28 (Monday), 2021
Time: 12:30 AM IST
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Venue: La Cartuja Stadium , Seville in Spain
TV Channels: Sony Sports Network (SONY TEN 2, SONY TEN 3, SONY SIX and SONY TEN 4)
Live Streaming: SonyLIV
Head-to-head: The two sides have met 18 times. Portugal have six wins, while Belgium has five wins. Seven matches have ended in a draw.
Likely XIs:
Belgium: Thibaut Courtois; Toby Alderweireld, Thomas Vermaelen, Jan Vertonghen; Thomas Meunier, Kevin De Bruyne, Axel Witsel, Thorgan Hazard; Yannick Carrasco, Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard
Manager: Roberto Martinez
Portugal: Rui Patricio; Nelson Semedo, Ruben Dias, Pepe, Raphael Guerreiro; Joao Palhinha, Renato Sanches, Joao Moutinho; Bernardo Silva, Ceistiano Ronaldo, Diogo Jota
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Manager: Fernando Santos
