Belgium vs Portugal
Belgium vs Portugal takes place on June 27 in Seville in the round of 16 of Euro2020. Belgium qualified for the knockout phase thanks to a perfect group stage campaign which saw them take three wins from three. They face Portugal who could only draw with France in their final game to qualify as the best third placed-team. Read on for more analysis, match predictions and betting tips.
Form
Belgium come into this game bang in form, with three wins in three under their belt scoring seven times in the process. Finland put up a brave fight in the final game but succumbed to two late goals as Belgium’s class won out. Romelu Lukaku added to his tally to take himself to three goals and joint second place overall in the race for the Golden Shoe. It’s in midfield however where Belgium really tick, not least thanks to Man City maestro Kevin de Bruyne. The midfielder had 107 touches, made more key passes than anyone else and was the centre of everything good that Belgium did.
Portugal only managed to finish third in their group, having drawn with France in their final game. Cristiano Ronaldo took his tally to five in this tournament with two penalties in an end-to-end game against France that saw the group lead change hands multiple times over ninety minutes. However, Portugal looked shaky at the back and were caught off guard as Karim Benzema broke the offside trap just after half-time to put the French 2-1 up. In their last ten internationals Portugal have only kept four clean sheets. They will need to be tighter if they are to progress.
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Injuries
Barring Leicester full-back Timothy Castagne who is ruled out for the remainder of the tournament due to a double fracture of the eye socket, Belgium coach Roberto Martinez has a full squad to choose from. Kevin de Bruyne and Eden Hazard are now back to full fitness, giving the Red Devils a frightening array of talent to call on going forward. Hazard started his first game of Euro2020 in the 2-0 win over Finland and the question is if he has done enough to maintain his place over veteran Napoli forward Dries Mertens.
Nelson Semedo limped off in the game against France and will be a doubt for this game. He was replaced in the Portugal side by Manchester United misfit Diogo Dalot, and the defender who spent last season on loan at Milan will no doubt be chomping at the bit to start if Semedo cannot overcome injury. Ronaldo will lead the line again looking to become the sole record holder for international goals. At this moment he is tied with Iran’s Ali Daei with 109.
Match Predictions
The bookies are struggling to call this one with Belgium at 2.40 in the early 12X market while Portugal are available at around 3.00. Belgium have the advantage of an extra two days of rest between the games but that is balanced out by the travel required from St Petersburg in the downtime. The goals market might be the place to look for betting tips; the most recent meeting between these two teams finished 0-0 and it could be a tight one again here.
