New Delhi: The UEFA Euro 2024 quarterfinals just got a whole lot spicier. Portugal’s clash with France isn’t just a battle for a spot in the semifinals; it’s a captivating duel between the two generations of football greatness.
The last eight encounter at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg will bring the two captains — the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo and the unstoppable Kylian Mbappe — together for another face-off.
France have reached a sixth quarterfinal in the last seven major tournaments despite none of its players scoring a goal from open play in the tournament. Meanwhile, Portugal reached this stage, needing a shootout to beat Slovenia after a goalless 120 minutes in the Round of 16.
This is not the first time two icons will share a pitch. They last met in the previous edition of the UEFA European Championships when both Portugal and France were drawn into the same group at UEFA Euro 2020. The game saw a total of three penalties with Ronaldo scoring both of Portugal’s goals from the spot in the 2-2 draw they played out, helping Portugal advance to the knockout stages.
Their meeting in the quarterfinals of this tournament holds almost the same value for Portugal as just like the game three years ago, their qualification to the next round depends on their result against France. Both teams are not in great form heading into the game and will need their talismen to show up if they are to advance to the semi-finals of UEFA Euro 2024.
Now, Mbappe is 25 and widely regarded as one of the world’s best footballers. He is the man on whose shoulders France’s hopes for a first European title since 2000 rest. He has already amassed a staggering 48 goals for France, and many even believe he is destined to break Ronaldo’s international goal-scoring record.
In this tournament so far, he has been hindered by the broken nose he suffered in France’s opening match against Austria, which forced him to miss the next match against Netherlands. He has not been at his sharpest since returning, and the spot kick he converted against Poland is the only goal he has scored so far.
If Mbappe comes out on top the journey from the boy admiring Ronaldo’s poster to being the sport’s undisputed poster boy will surely be complete.
On the other hand, Cristiano Ronaldo, at 39 is in the twilight of his career. Yet his quest to become the oldest-ever goal-scorer at the tournament still remains to be achieved. He has the most attempts out of all players yet to score a goal and even missed a crucial penalty in the round-of-16 tie against Slovenia.
The last-16 display against Slovenia summarised his summer showing so far, with wayward free kicks, saved penalties, and floods of tears. Yet Ronaldo can deliver when it counts, tucking away the first penalty of the shootout in the nets, though goalkeeper Diago Costa took the spotlight with three successive saves.
Neither of them have been at their best so far. Mbappe looks hampered by a range of issues, especially the mask. France’s system doesn’t work well when he is crowded out or out of form. Leading to pre-tournament favourites failing to score from open play in their four matches in Germany.
Meanwhile, the question remains over Cristiano Ronaldo’s inclusion in the starting lineup, with the list of his doubters increasing after below-par goalless showings against relative minnows Georgia and Slovenia. But Portugal will need Ronaldo to guide their attack against France, and keeping him out will be a big decision. They have Goncalo Ramos and Diogo Jota in the waiting who could replace the Portuguese number 7 but dropping Ronaldo is a brave call and it doesn’t look like one Roberto Martinez will take.
