Portugal vs Germany, UEFA Euro 2020, Today Match Prediction

Portugal vs Germany Match Prediction & Analysis

Portugal left it late to see off a stiff Hungarian challenge in their opening game, with a brace from Cristiano Ronaldo helping his country score three late goals and seal three valuable points.

They currently sit top of Group F, ahead of France who won their game 1-0. When they won the tournament back in 2016, they didn’t win any of their group games, so they will already see this as a step in the right direction.

Should they win here, they are likely to secure a top two finish, although will have to play France in the final group game.

Germany were beaten as many expected they would against France. It was a marginal victory, although France were the side who looked as though they had more gears to go into, whereas Germany looked a little short on ideas going forward.

If they can’t find a way to goal here, it could spell disaster for them.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Portugal Preview

World Ranking: 5

Best Historical Finish at the Euros: Winners, 2016

Predicted Finish This Year: Semi Finals

Reasons to be cheerful:

     Showed class in front of goal in final 10 minutes

     Ronaldo will be determined to secure top scorer’s award

Reasons to be fearful:

     Germany are very rarely beaten twice in a row

     Lost their last four fixtures against Germany

For all Portugal’s quality, they will be wary of a rebound from the Germans here, especially given their poor recent record against them.

They have been beaten on the last four occasions by their opponents here, including a 4-0 thrashing back in the 2014 World Cup.

They are, however, on a seven-game unbeaten run right now, and confidence will be high coming into this game. Should they win it, they will surely book their place in the Round of 16 with a game to spare. Their thoughts will most likely be on not losing it, however.

Manager Santos will be tempted to make a few changes here to keep things fresh, but could end up opting for the same team which won a few days ago.

Star Man – Cristiano Ronaldo

Is now the Euros all-time top scorer after scoring twice in the first match.

Germany Preview

World Ranking: 12

Best Historical Finish at the Euros: Winners, 1972/1980/1996

Predicted Finish This Year: Quarter Finals

Reasons to be cheerful:

     Good record over Portugal, especially in major tournaments

     Have a deep squad to make changes after the last game

Reasons to be fearful:

     Were poor against France with little attacking edge

     Defeat here will make it impossible to finish in the top two

Jurgen Low’s last tournament as Germany manager got off to a poor start with an equally poor performance against France.

Losing 1-0 to the world champions is nothing to be ashamed of, but they created so little in front of goal and looked a shadow of former Germany teams in decades gone by.

There will be the temptation of changing the team a little, with the likes of Leroy Sane potentially coming in to bring pace and directness.

Although a win is preferable for Germany here, they would take a point and hope that they can outscore Hungary in their final group game in a few days time.

Anything less than a point here could be disastrous.

Star Man – Leroy Sane

Has pace to burn as well as quick feet and an eye for goal. Probably represents a better choice than Havertz right now.