Both sides saw their outright odds slashed after Croatia beat Spain to top their group, with their price coming in from 16/1 to 8/1, while Portugal have been cut from 16/1 to 12/1.
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Portugal head coach Fernando Santos insists not all of his decisions revolve around Cristiano Ronaldo, despite setting his team up to get the most out of their captain.
Croatia are likely to be even stronger for Saturday’s clash in Lens (1900GMT) than against Spain with the return of Ronaldo’s Real Madrid teammate Luka Modric from injury.
Ronaldo’s side secured just three draws in the group stage, but it was enough to send them through to the last 16 after the Real Madrid star scored twice in the thrilling 3-3 tie with Hungary.
Croatia had no trouble scoring, netting five goals in their three matches, while conceding just two in the process.
Cristiano Ronaldo has answered his critics again and will embark on a goalscoring run that can lead Portugal to the European Championship final, according to his worldwide strike partner Nani.
In the heat and humidity of Lyon, the pent-up frustration simmering inside Ronaldo after two goalless games was visible to one and all.
It depends. What do you class as a shock? at this point, Portugal winning would be the biggest surprise.
A shock 2-0 victory for Hungary over Austria in their opening Group F match set the stage for the tournament’s most unpredictable section.
Cristiano Ronaldo came through when his team needed him, but now Portugal face a motivated Croatia and will have to play at their level.
Ronaldo, the most high-profile player at Euro 2016, had not having been having the best of times in France.
Ronaldo was heavily criticized for his unsavory comments about Iceland’s celebration after the nation of only 330,000 people managed to draw Portugal but Nani feels that is in the past and should be swept aside. “Croatia has a great team”.
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After leading Greece to the knockout stage of Euro 2012 and the 2014 World Cup based on a tightly organized defense, Santos followed the same philosophy and started rebuilding the Portuguese team. “We were very good in some aspects but we need to improve in others”, Mario said through an interpreter. “When you said Iceland will never win anything I bet you weren’t expecting this as the final results of the qualifying group”.
