There isn’t much between these two teams but Croatia are in better form at this tournament so far and if they keep Cristiano Ronaldo quiet they should rein victorious in this match.
Advertisement
Cristiano Ronaldo’s stuttering Portugal side face a hard second round tie against an in-form Croatia outfit at Euro 2016 in Lens.
Ronaldo’s only shot created a rare scoring opportunity and substitute Ricardo Quaresma finished it off, helping Portugal to beat Croatia 1-0 on Saturday and advance to the European Championship quarterfinals.
Live stream – The game will be carried online via WatchESPN, which is free for users who have a cable subscription.
Neither goalkeeper was forced into a save before the end of 90 minutes, and Perisic and Nikola Kalinic both spurned chances to do so in the first half of extra time.
“We played really well and were controlling the match”, he added, “we conceded no chances, except the last one”.
Cristiano Ronaldo had just 19 touches in the first half against Croatia and none in the opposition box.
Portugal will now play Poland in the quarterfinals on Thursday in Marseille.
With both Croatia and Portugal struggling so badly in the final third an attacker was never likely to take the Man of the Match award.
“We can not say football is fair, we had many chances, we dominated for the whole match, so it was not a psychological problem”, said Cacic. “We’ll play as well as we can and try to win, which is the most important thing”. They showed just how good they can be in that win over Spain, particularly after resting six players against the European Champions.
The composed midfielder was rested in the thrilling 3-3 draw with Portugal, with Hungary not wanting to risk playing Nagy as he was carrying a yellow card and faced suspension for the last 16 tie against. On the face of it this looks certain to be an evenly-matched, tight affair which could go all the way to extra time or possibly penalties, but Poland may hold the edge due to their greater firepower in attack.
And just seven minutes into the second period, Croatia came bursting out of the blocks, thankfully.
“We knew it was going to be an ugly match”.
Portugal felt they should have had a penalty with 64 minutes on the clock when Nani was caught by a high boot from Ivan Strinic, but referee Carlos Velasco Carballo was unmoved.
Advertisement
Croatia’s Luka Modric, left, and Portugal’s Nani, right, challenge for the ball during the Euro 2016 round of 16 soccer match between Croatia and Portugal at the Bollaert stadium in Lens, France, Saturday, June 25, 2016. Perisic also looked to increase his goal tally in the tournament and had his chance after making a darting run into the box only to see his shot hit the side-netting.
