They’ll be playing at home and they’re allowed to dream of victory.
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Leading the charge for Portugal will be captain Cristiano Ronaldo, with much of the pre-match build-up focusing on the prospect of a personal duel between himself and France’s tournament top scorer Antoine Griezmann.
“It was a very important game for us”.
Portugal, who have won only one match over 90 minutes in the tournament, have yet to sparkle, although there was some improvement in their semi-final, notably from Ronaldo, who scored a majestic headed goal.
“We can even see Ronaldo becoming dependent on the others and not the other way”. “But it’s one thing to be favourites and another to win and I believe that Portugal will win”, he said.
The decision paid off for coach Fernando Santos not to risk his defensive leader against a Welsh attack that lacked the options France possesses.
Griezmann, 25, is the tournament’s top scorer and is bidding to deliver success for the home nation in his first major global final.
“I think this referee is maybe among two or three [of the] best referees in the world and it was no accident that he was present at the final of the Champions League. It’s something that I am proud of and something I’ll always cherish, this time in Euro 2016”.
“It will be a very interesting match and a hard one for both teams”, Capello told Sky Sport Italia. They also made it to the semifinals in 2012 and lost to eventual champion Spain 4-2 on penalty kicks, as Ronaldo finished in a tie for the tournament lead with three goals.
“We owe a great debt of thanks to the French people, to the French president, François Hollande, to the French government, the host cities, and the French police and armed forces, who have done such a marvelous job of ensuring the safety of the millions of fans who have come from all over Europe to attend this tournament”, UEFA senior vice president Angel Maria Villar said Saturday.
Hosts France are one victory away from a third straight major football title at a home event but in Sunday’s Euro 2016 final face a Portugal team desperate to lift a first trophy at last.
The 33-year-old collected his second Champions League title with Real Madrid in May but believes the chance to claim Portugal’s first major global honour outstrips anything he has experienced during a decorated career.
Lead Portugal to a first major title, and a fourth Ballon d’Or – the prize he covets above nearly all others – would swim tantalisingly into view. This is how they play, and it turns out they are quite good at it.
Les Bleus can also rely on passionate support from home fans desperate for something to celebrate after going through strikes and violent protests against a labor law, as well as a state of emergency still in force since November a year ago, when militants killed 130 people in Paris at several sites including the Stade de France, the venue for today’s final. Now 12 years have gone by and now we are going to play another final.
“Now we can say that the national team is Ronaldo, Renato and nine others”, writes columnist Pedro Adao e Silva in Record. They deserved to win the match and the Euro.
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The 31-year-old was stung by Greece’s smash-and-grab European Championships raid in the 2004 final when Portugal were hosts, and has little intention of losing a second major final.
