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At last that moment has arrived, for which we were eagerly waiting for the last one month. We are talking about that moment when a new champion will emerge and will be crowned as the Champions of Europe for the next four years. The final of the Euro Cup 2016 is just a couple of days away, and to play that epic encounter the host nation France will battle against another supergiant of European football, Portugal, at the ‘Home of the French Football’, Stade de France, Saint-Denis.Both the teams have shed their blood, sweats and tears for this day, to achieve the ever eluded glory, to write their name on the page of the history book. And in this Euro Cup 2016 Final match preview, we will discuss both the teams, the inside team news, head-to-head stats and match prediction. Not only that we have also provided the France vs Portugal Online Streaming links of the Euro Cup 2016 final, so that you can watch the match over the internet, uninterruptedly and free of cost.
Portugal vs France Euro Cup 2016 Match Details
Date: Sunday, 10th July 2016
Venue: Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Kick Off: 12.30 AM (IST)
Referee: Mark Clattenberg
France vs Portugal Head-to-Head Stats
France and Portugal have always been a football powerhouse in Europe and these two countries have played each other for the 24 times, before this mega final. And this tie has been dominated by the Les Blues, as they have emerged victorious in 18 times. On the other hand, the Portuguese won the bout just only 5 times, and on one occasion the match ended as undecided.
The history is also favouring France in the major tournaments. Two teams met in a major football tournament for the first time in the semifinal of the 1984 Euro Cup, and after the scheduled 90 minutes, the match ended as 1-1. In the extra-time, Portugal took the lead, but kudos to a last minute goal by French legend Michel Platini, Les Blues overcame the challenge of the mighty Portuguese.
The same story happened in the semifinal of the Euro Cup 2000 too; Portugal took the lead in the 19th minute, virtue of a brilliant goal by Nuno Gomes. In the 51st minute, Thierry Henry levelled the terms. And when it was looking that the match was going to the tie-breakers, Zinedine Zidane scored the winning goal for the French at the 117th minutes. Interestingly, in both the cases, France eventually became the Euro Cup champions.
In the most recent times, France played Portugal in the 2006 World Cup, and this time too, Zinedine Zidane put the last nail in Portuguese coffin by scoring the only goal of the match in the 33rd minute, from a penalty. So it is interesting to see whether the Portuguese be finally able to break the jinx or the French continue their dominance over the Seleçãos.
France Team Details
France beat Germany in the 2nd semifinal with a clinical performance and by the 2-0 margin. The star striker of the French team Antoine Griezmann scored both the goals of the match in each half. Like the semifinal against Germany, France coach Didier Deschamps will get the full squad in the final too. There is injury woe in the side, and everybody is fit and ready to give their 100% on the field. No French player is unavailable due to suspension too, so Deschamps have plenty of options in his hand to try with. But it is more likely that the manager will not break the winning combination in the final and will field the same playing XI that played against Iceland and Germany. That means Adil Rami will again make room for the youngster Samuel Umtiti and N’Golo Kanté again has to seat on the bench. So let’s check out the probable starting lineup of France against Portugal in the Euro Cup 2016 Final, below.
France Probable Starting XI: Lloris; Sagna, Koscielny, Umtiti, Evra; Pogba, Matuidi; Sissoko, Griezmann, Payet; Giroud
Key Players: Pogba, Payet, Griezmann
Portugal Team Details
Portugal defeated the surprise package of this competition, Wales in the first semifinal by 2-0. Cristiano Ronaldo played the pivotal role in team’s success on Wednesday night. Good news for Portugal is, the dependable central midfielder of the team William Carvalho will again feature in the first eleven after a one-match suspension against Wales. But the coach Fernando Santos will be most worried about Pepe’s fitness status. The towering figure of the Portuguese defence missed the Wales match due to injury, and all the medical staffs are currently trying to make Pepe fit for the final. If Pepe gets fit, he will easily replace either Fonte or Alves. Both the defenders had a superb game in the semifinal, so it will be tough for the manager to select one. As expected all eyes will be on Cristiano Ronaldo. The Real Madrid was in a red hot form in the semifinal, scored one goal and assisted the other, and every Portuguese fan will pray to Ronaldo to keep his goal scoring spree alive. Check out the probable starting lineup of Portugal against France in the Euro Cup 2016 Final, below
Portugal Probable Starting XI: Rui Patricio, Cedric Soares, Jose Fonte, Raphael Guerreiro, Pepe/Bruno Alves, William Carvalho, Joao Mario, Adrien Silva, Renato Sanches, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani
Key Players: Pepe, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani
France vs Portugal Euro Cup 2016 Final: Our Prediction
A fool will only predict the score of the Euro Cup 2016 final, especially when two teams of almost same calibre will lock horn against each other. But, we have to do it, and for the reason, we put France ahead over Germany in the semifinal, the same reason we are keeping ahead the Les Blues again in the final, the incredible home support. France will play in front of a hundred thousand of home fans, and that matters in such a high-pressure match.
So, our prediction for the final is France: 0 – Portugal: 1. And there is a chance that it can be a silver goal!! Ronaldo may not be the lucky player.
Euro Cup 2016 Final: Portugal vs France Live Streaming Guide
So if you want to enjoy this grand finale over the internet, we can suggest you the perfect website to watch the France vs Portugal Live Streaming. Just visit the mentioned website, click on the links, and you are all set to enjoy the nail-biting Portugal vs France Live Streaming for absolutely free of cost.
