Wanting to repeat the 2016 feat, Portugal face the same rival: France. This time for the quarter finals, the game will be in Hamburg and will be broadcast at 8pm this Friday, on TVI. Before the 29th clash between the two teams, take the opportunity to learn about their mutual history and their specific statistics:
28 meetings, six Portuguese victories
The Euro 2024 quarter-final is the twenty-ninth between Portugal and France. History between the two, however, does not seem to work in Portugal’s favour. In each game, Portugal came out happy only six times. Three games were tied and the French team won the other 19.
Draws have only recently started to become more frequent. Two of the three occurred in 2020 and 2021.
Although the teams have already accumulated a portfolio of contacts, they have never faced each other in the quarter-finals before. In European competition, meetings have been held in the group stage, semi-finals or, once, in the final in 2016.
When Portugal vs. France, we should not expect big goals. After all, in the last five games, three were 1-0 – in 2015 and 2020 with wins for France and in 2016 for Portugal – one was tied for nil, in 2020 for the League of Nations, and another was tied for two, in the game. edition of Euro in 2021.
Speaking of the Euros, this is the fifth clash between the teams in this competition. The first match was in 1984, and France won 3-1. In the second place, in 2000, they also won 2-1. In 2016 it was the turn of Portugal, who won 1-0. The last one, in 2021, was the aforementioned two-way draw.
This is the eighth time that Portugal has participated in the final of the Euro. They only won once, in 2016 (for those keeping track, it was against the French). In 2004, despite being the hosts, they were beaten in the finals by Greece.
France participated for the first time in 1960 and since then 10 more participations have been added to the list. The team won in 1984 and 2000. In 2016just like Portugal 12 years earlier, despite being hosts, they lost in the final.
At Euro 2024, the situation is different
In the general balance of history between Portugal and France, the choice of “corners” is still at the bottom. If we look at performance at Euro 2024, the situation is different. But first, the big picture:
This is the fifth game for both teams. France won twice: against Austria, in the group stage, and against Belgium, in the round of 16. In the group stage they drew with Poland and the Netherlands. In all of these games, the French managed to score only three goals. In fact, two own goals and a penalty.
Portugal had a greater variety of results. In regular time, Portugal won two matches (against the Czech Republic and Turkey, in the group stage), lost one (against Georgia in the group stage) and drew another (against Slovenia, in the round of 16, despite the fact that she managed to win through penalties). The “quinas” team scored five goals, not including penalties.
In terms of shots, Portugal is second, with 74 attempts, 21 of them on target. France is in fourth place, with 69 shots, 16 of them on target.
Portugal continues with a huge pass efficiency: in fourth place, efficiency is 89.5%. The problem? France has the position just above, with an extra percentage point. However, Portugal is also leading the number of passports, with 2765. France, in turn, is in sixth place with 2289.
The astronomical number of passes among the Portuguese also translates into possession of the ball and, therefore, Portugal is also the leader, with 65.3%. France is the team with the seventh best possession of the ball, with 53.8%.
What’s also noticeable to the most attentive spectators is that Portugal attempt a lot of crosses. Once again, he ranks first in attempts, with 123. This does not translate (at all) to efficiency. Portugal is 15th in the crossing efficiency table, with only 23.6%.
The French team attempted 48 fewer passes than the Portuguese team and, therefore, they are the seventh most attempted team. Still, it is slightly more efficient than Portugal, being two positions higher in the table with an efficiency of 25.3%.
Still in offensive terms, Portugal is, once again, the most attacking team, with 306 attacks. Second place is occupied by Germany and by some distance – 265 attacks. France are fourth with 232. Portugal are also the team with the most corners won. In the four games, Portugal has already scored 36. France appears in seventh place, with 24 corners.
Feinting belongs to the Portuguese. With 125 feints, Portugal is also in first place. In this context, France is in third place, with 86.
At a defensive level, Portugal is well placed. 176 balls were found back, but three goals, Austria. France, in eighth place, gained 159.
Despite the great achievement of Diogo Costa, at goalkeeping level, we are not so well placed. Excluding penalties, Diogo Costa saved six shots on goal, but let in three, a ratio that was only worse than the Swiss team. However, these numbers could be the result of high ball possession and defensive activity. France are the ninth team with the most defenses, with 12 and only one goal conceded.
The “quinas” team will try to repeat their 2016 feat this Friday, at 8pm, in a match that will be broadcast on TVI. If they win, they will face either Spain or Germany in the semi-finals. If you lose, you return home.