Tonight battles of the quarterfinal stage will begin at the European Championship. The first teams to enter the arena will be the national teams of Poland and Portugal, who will fight for a ticket to the semi-finals. The preview of these matches is brought to you by "Eurofootball.com."
Match time and venue:
On June 30th at 22:00, at the "Stade Velodrome" stadium. The match will be broadcast live on the LRT channel.
Teams' journey in the tournament:
The Polish national team collected seven points in Group C and in the round of 16 met the Swiss national team. The main time and extra time of the match ended in a draw of 1-1, so a penalty shootout was needed, in which the Poles came out on top.
The Portuguese national team reached the next stage in Group F, finishing in third place and entering among the four best third-placed teams. In the round of 16, the Portuguese, after extra time, defeated the Croatian national team 1-0.
Team news:
In the Polish national team, once again we will see Lukasz Fabianski in goal. The successful goalkeeper still has only one competitor, as Wojciech Szczesny is still recovering from a shoulder injury. Bartosz Kapustka, who missed the match against the Swiss due to suspension, will be able to help his team in these matches.
In the Portuguese national team, there is good news - both Andre Gomes and Raphael Guerreiro are now healthy and participated in Wednesday's training session. Until then, these players had not trained for two days. After these two players returned to training, the Portuguese coach can once again rejoice with having 23 healthy players.
Coaches' comments:
Adam Nawalka (Poland): "I think we have already proven what we can do, but let's wait for the match. We know our strengths and what we are capable of. Our results in this tournament are not a surprise. We are improving and hope to demonstrate high-level football.
Portugal is a national team with great attacking potential, but they can also defend. It is clear to us that when they have the ball, they are very dangerous on the counterattack. We expect tough matches, but we want to control them according to our game plan.
Robert Lewandowski is a very important player. He plays a crucial role as captain. He is in good physical and mental condition and does a good job."
Fernando Santos (Portugal): "I faced Poland with the Greek national team four years ago in the opening match, and I remember it well. However, tomorrow's match will be completely different from 2012. My colleague believes that Poland will continue, but I believe we will. There are no favorites, both teams' chances are 50-50.
Everyone talks about Cristiano, as he is a fantastic player. There are 100 other great players in France, but it's normal to want to talk about Ronaldo, Lewandowski. But Ronaldo knows how to deal with that.
It will be a balanced match, although I don't think Poland resembles any of the teams we have faced so far. They are a very strategic team. They transition very quickly from defense to attack, and because of that, it can be said that they do a lot of unseen work. When we have the ball, we will try to take advantage of their weaknesses."
Teams' statistics in the tournament (per match):
Goals: Poland 0.75 - 1 Portugal
Shots on goal: Poland 13.5 - 19 Portugal
Corners: Poland 4.3 - 8 Portugal
Ball possession: Poland 45.8% - 56.7% Portugal
Passing accuracy: Poland 77.3% - 84% Portugal
Aerial duels won: Poland 18 - 13.5 Portugal
Tackles: Poland 15.5 - 13.3 Portugal
Interceptions: Poland 15.5 - 14 Portugal
Clearances: Poland 11.5 - 15 Portugal
Key matchup:
Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Michal Pazdan
It is difficult to predict the current ability of the Portuguese team. Their defense has not shown the best results, and in attack, they have also not demonstrated their best game. In this team, no player has shined yet, and considering that they have Cristiano Ronaldo among them, this is surprising. Except in the match against Hungary, where he scored two goals, the forward did not meet the expectations placed on him. Against Croatia, he was invisible throughout the match, but eventually Ricardo Quaresma redirected the ball into the opponents' goal after his shot. This only proves that even without playing his best football, Ronaldo can still change the game.
The Polish national team knows very well who they will have to fight against and they will be ready to wrestle with the "Real" star. Adam Nawalka's pupils have only conceded one goal and have shown one of the strongest defenses in the entire tournament. Pazdan is indispensable in these championships, and his reliable game has caught the attention of specialists. However, in the upcoming match, both him and the Polish defense will face a serious challenge. They will need to stop not only Ronaldo, but the whole goal-hungry Portuguese team, which aims to reach the third European Championship semi-final in the last four tournaments.
Predicted lineups:
Poland: Fabianski; Piszczek, Glik, Pazdan, Jedrzejczyk; Blaszczykowski, Krychowiak, Maczynski, Grosicki; Milik, Lewandowski.
Port
ugal: Rui Patricio, Cedric, Fonte, Pepe, Guerreiro; Silva, William Carvalho, Sanches, Mario; Nani, Ronaldo.
Specialists' predictions:
Reymundas Tomayo ("Yibada"): "In this match, the chances of both teams are very similar, and both teams have their leaders who can change the course of the game on their own. However, I believe that the Portuguese national team will defeat the Poles, and Ronaldo will surpass Lewandowski. Poland 0 - 1 Portugal."
Paul Merson ("Sky Sports"): "I find it hard to believe that Portugal is considered the favorite in the betting shops - this is a completely even match. The Portuguese have slightly improved their game, but the Poles also made it to this stage, and their ranks still have not seen Lewandowski shine. I like the Portuguese defense, although most criticize this unit. They conceded three goals against the Hungarians, but looking closer at them - two were deflections, and one was a fantastic goal. All three were scored from outside the penalty area, and it is hardly fair to blame the defenders. However, I believe that Lewandowski will join the party and help his country's team secure a narrow victory. Poland 2 - 1 Portugal."
Rahul Dantes ("Outside 90"): "The Polish national team looks better as a team, but Portugal has more individually powerful players. The Poles have disappointed with their attacking play in these championships, and now is a fantastic time for Robert Lewandowski to step up and show what he can do. It will be a tough match with few goals, and in my opinion, the Poles will continue. Poland 1 - 0 Portugal."
Interesting facts:
This will be the third meeting of these national teams in final stages and the first in the European Championships. So far, in World Championships, the teams have each claimed one victory;
Poland has not lost in the last three matches against Portugal (1 win, 2 draws);
The Polish national team reached the European Championship quarterfinals for the first time in its history;
The Polish national team has never scored more than one goal in European Championships throughout its history. In general, in no Polish match in European championships have viewers seen more than two goals;
In all Portuguese matches in this European Championship, the result after 90 minutes was a draw;
Poland is the least scoring team among all quarterfinal participants (3 goals);
The Portuguese national team has played the most matches of all teams that have not won the European Championship title (32 matches);
Poland's national team has not fallen behind in this tournament. Throughout the championship, they have only conceded one goal.
