Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski are the respective captains of their national teams. And the spotlight will be firmly on both players as Poland and Portugal clash this Thursday. We take a look at how they compare.

On Thursday, Portugal and Poland will square off for the first time in the UEFA Euro 2016 quarter-fimals. And whilst there will be 22 men on the pitch, arguably all eyes will be focused on two players: Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski.

So, ahead of this intriguing clash, we take a look at these two stars, who, coincidentally happen to be captains of their respective nations - and their countries' top goal-scorers in Euro 2016 qualifying. Although Lewandowski's coach, Adam Nawalka, vehemently shot down any comparisons to CR7, stating:

"I don’t like comparisons to other players (such as Ronaldo) — we don’t need them and we don’t want them", nonetheless, comparisons are still going to be made between the two stars. Here's a look at how they compare ahead of Thursday's showdown.

Cristiano Ronaldo vs. Robert Lewandowski: How they've done so far at Euro 2016

Photo courtesy of Sportskeeda

As you can see, each captain has yet to really hit full form. However, Cristiano Ronaldo obviously has fared better thus far, as he has been directly involved in three goals for Portugal. Lewandowski, on the other hand, continues to have a frustrating tournament. The Bayern Munich star appears to be devoid of confidence - with just two average shots per game - as compared to his contemporary, who has no problem with shooting (and has four times Lewandowski's attempt rate at nearly eight shots per game). Curiously enough, despite this, both CR7 and Lewandowski have the same accuracy rate - 40 per cent - and have played every single minute of their team's four games so far.

Goal-getters - How CR7 and Lewandowski compare at club level (since 2014)

Since moving to Bayern Munich in 2014, Lewandowski has seen his stock - and goal tally - only rising. Cristiano Ronaldo, as we all know, has been firing in the goals for numerous seasons with Real Madrid. Here's how each has fared over the past two seasons:

Cristiano Ronaldo: 51 goals, 48 apps. Total for both seasons: 112 goals, 102 apps

Robert Lewandowski: 42 goals, 51 apps (2015/2016). Total for both seasons: 67 goals, 100 apps

The 2015/2016 season was the highest scoring one for Lewandowski; previously the Polish ace highest total was 36, for Borussia Dortmund during the 2012/2013 campaign. Meanwhile, whilst CR7's 51 goals were ten less than the 2014/2015 term, he nonetheless enjoyed success as Real Madrid clinched an unprecedented 11th Champions League title this past May.

Bragging rights - Who has more silverware & personal titles (since 2014)

Lewandowski and CR7 certainly are not lacking when it comes to awards - both on a personal and a team level. Let's have a look at some of them:

Robert Lewandowski:

  • Fastest hat-trick, poker, and five-goal haul in Bundesliga history (when he scored five in nine minutes against Wolfsburg)
  • Bundesliga top goal-scorer (30 goals) in 2015/2016
  • Bundesliga (2014/2015, 2015/2016) & DFB Pokal (2015/2016)
  • Polish Footballer of the Year (2014, 2015)
  • UEFA Champions League of the season (2015/2016)
  • Polish Sportspersonality of the Year (2015)
  • Fastest Foreign Player to reach 100 goals in the Bundesliga

Lewandowski became the first player in nearly 40 years to score 30 goals in a Bundesliga season during this past campaign

Cristiano Ronaldo:

  • Real Madrid's all-time top goalscorer - 360 goals
  • First player to score three hattricks in a single season (2015/2016)
  • European Golden Shoe (2014/2015)
  • UEFA Champions League (2015/2016) - (second of two titles with Real Madrid)
  • Ballon d'Or (2014)
  • UEFA Team of the Year (2014, 2015)
  • UEFA Champions League Team of the Season & Top Scorer (2014/2015 and 2015/2016)
  • Record for most goals scored in a UCL group stage (11 goals)
  • First and only player to be named in the FIFPro World XI for two different teams

Cristiano Ronaldo recently celebrated winning his third Champions League trophy (and second with Real Madrid). He's also the first player to score at four different EURO tournaments (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016)

Leading by example - Firing their nations to Euro 2016

As captains of their respective nations, both Robert Lewandowski and Cristiano Ronaldo are naturally expected to lead by example. And both players stepped up and delivered for Poland and Portugal during the Euro 2016 qualifiers. Here's how their numbers compare during qualifying:

Cristiano Ronaldo: 5 goals (about 46 per cent of Portugal's total of 11)

Robert Lewandowski: 13 goals (about 40 per cent of Poland's total of 33)

Lewandowski was also the top goalscorer in qualifying and tied a record set by Northern Ireland's David Healy.

As it stands, it's advantage CR7. However, as Wolfsburg saw in 2015 and CR7's own club, Real Madrid saw in 2013, Lewandowski can be quite lethal once he gets going. What's certain is that both players, as captains of their respective countries, have the hopes of their nations on their shoulders. And as such, both will be especially keen on leading by example as they hope to fire their teams into the next round - and perhaps beyond.

Who will come out on top?

 

Match details, result and original broadcast info

Poland 1 - 1P Portugal

June 30, 2016 3:00pmStade Vélodrome, France

This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.

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