Portugal and France will recreate the 2016 final, when the two teams clash in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals with two of the tournament’s brightest superstars.
Portugal’s 3-0 penalty shootout win over Slovenia puts them in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals against France. This match is full of history, as France have beaten Portugal three times in the semi-finals of Euro 1984, 2000 and the 2006 World Cup. However, Portugal defeated France 1-0 in the Euro 2016 final at the Stade de France.
Ronaldo (left) and Mbappe after Portugal drew 2-2 with France at Puskas Stadium, Budapest, Hungary, Group F Euro 2020 on June 23, 2021. Photo: PSG Talk
The upcoming match will also attract attention when Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe will face each other for the first time in an official match since the Euro group stage three years ago. If counting in a knockout round in all competitions, these two stars have only met twice, in the first and second leg of the 2017-2018 Champions League round of 16 between Real Madrid and PSG. At that time, Ronaldo scored three goals, helping Real win 5-2 on aggregate.
This time, the two players are the captains of Portugal and France. Mbappe has just joined Real Madrid, after seven seasons playing for PSG. Meanwhile, Ronaldo is a Real legend with 450 goals in 438 matches from 2009-2018. The 39-year-old striker is currently playing for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, but congratulated Mbappe when his junior arrived at Bernabeu.
“From now on, I will be watching you, Mbappe,” Ronaldo commented on Mbappe’s post announcing his move to Real. This comment received more than 6 million Likes, becoming the most liked response of all time on Instagram .
Mbappe has idolized Ronaldo since he was a child, hanging many pictures of the Portuguese superstar on his wall. The striker born in 1998 also visited Real’s headquarters in 2013 for a trial, and took a photo with Ronaldo. Since then, Mbappe has always dreamed of moving to Real to play football.
In the Euro 2021 group stage, Portugal drew 2-2 with France and then both advanced to the knockout round. But the rematch in Hamburg on July 5 will be a “do or die” affair. The loser will be eliminated, while the winner will face Spain or Germany in the semi-finals.
Euro 2024 has also determined the three quarter-final matches, including Spain – Germany, Portugal – France and England – Switzerland. The remaining matches will be determined after today’s series of matches on July 2, when the Netherlands meets Romania, and Austria faces Turkey.
