How Portugal reached the 2016 UEFA Euro final
Portugal commenced their adventure slowly. They were surprisingly held against debutants Iceland. This was followed by a night to forget for Ronaldo in their goalless draw against Austria. Having missed a second half penalty in that game, the pressure was on the 2015/16 UEFA Champions League topscorer and winner to step up on Matchday 3.
Responding to critics, he scored a brace in a 3-3 draw against Hungary to carry his nation into the Last 16 where they faced Croatia. Although substitute Renato Sanches stole the show in that fixture, Ronaldo again proved decisive as Quaresma’s 117th minute winning goal came off the captain’s shot. In the quarter-finals against Robert Lewandowski’s Poland, a penalty shoot-out was needed to separate the winners from the losers as Renato Sanches' equalizer sent the game into extra time. The Iberian side ran away with a 1-1 (5-4) victory.
In the semis, it all happened within three minutes for the Portuguese. A tense first half was followed by a more open second period right from its start. In typical Cristiano Ronaldo fashion, the 31-year-old skipper rose above Wales’ defender, met the ball with his head and banged it hard past the keeper and into the roof of the net.
The deadlock was finally broken after 50 minutes. Three minutes later, Ronaldo again was involved. He aimed for goal but his shot instead found the feet of ex-Manchester United colleague Luis Nani. The latter deflected Cristiano’s shot to double Portugal’s lead over the Welsh. Gareth Bale tried responding at the other end of the field with a long-range shot but shot-stopper Rui Patricio was equally good.
Portugal's qualification into the final is down to team effort
Portugal’s numbers against Wales in the semi-finals:
• 17 shots in total against 9
• 6 shots on goal against 6
• 10 fouls committed against 12
• 6 corners against 2
• No offsides
• 46 per cent of ball possession
• 2 yellow cards (Ronaldo, Bruno Alves)
• No red cards
• 3 saves against 4
How France reached the 2016 UEFA Euro final
The pressure was on Didier Deschamps right from the start – more so because of his controversial exclusion of superstar striker Karim Benzema, involved in a sex scandal. However, France set the tone from Matchday 1 with Dimitri Payet’s heroics. His stunning volley gifted Les Bleus all three points against a brave Romanian side.
Against Albania, the hosts left it late. Competition leading scorer Antoine Griezmann opened his goal account in the 90th minute. West Ham’s Payet sealed France’s 2-0 win six minutes later. There were no goals against Switzerland but the game was quite an eventful one with Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba finally stepping up to the plate with lethal passes and a couple of thunderbolt shots which unluckily didn’t enter into the net.
Unlike Portugal who had to qualify as best losers, the French booked their Round of 16 tickets as Group A winners. This offered them a date with the Republic of Ireland. Pogba committed an early offense, giving way to Ireland’s 2nd minute penalty. However, Griezmann came to the rescue with a brace which saw France set a date with Iceland in the Last 8.
The latter are hands down the revelation of the tournament. They ousted England but totally crumbled against Les Bleus. 5-2 was the final scoreline. On Thursday evening, France kept their "host and win" hopes alive by shocking World Cup champions Germany 2-0 in Marseille. Griezmann, again, was the man on target. He now counts six goals in the tournament.
France’s numbers against Germany:
• 15 shots in total against 17
• 7 shots on target against 6
• 12 fouls committed against 8
• No offsides
• 35 per cent of ball possession
• 2 yellow cards
• No red card
• 6 saves against 5
Global broadcast online, radio and TV listings to follow Portugal vs France
UEFA Euro 2016 finally comes to an end this Sunday, July 10, 2016. In the host country, the game will kick-off at 21:00 CET. However, not everyone will be watching the game from France. So if you live outside France, at what time will the UEFA Euro 2016 final start in your country?
Ask no more. Simply scroll down to the bottom of the page to view the timestamp or visit the Portugal vs France match page as the time, date and channels information are all geo-localized. In this preview, however, we’ve highlighted broadcast data for USA, UK, Canada, Portugal and France.
Watch Portugal vs France:
- In USA at 12pm PT/3:00pm ET on: ESPN Deportes Radio, ESPN Radio, ESPN3 USA, ESPN Deportes TV, ESPN, WatchESPN, SiriusXM FC
- In UK at 20:00 BST on: The ITV Hub, BBC Radio 5 Live, TalkSport Radio UK, BBC iPlayer, ITV 1 UK, BBC One UK
- In Canada at 3:00pm ET on: TSN5, TSN Radio 1040 | 1410 Vancouver, TSN4, TSN1, TSN3, RDS
- In France at 9:00pm on: M6, beIN Sports 2, beIN Sports 1, beIN SPORTS CONNECT France
- In Portugal at 8:00pm on: RTP 1, Sport TV1, RTP Play
The #Euro2016Final will be aired live on @emirates & other partner airlines of @sport24live. Enjoy #POR vs #FRA as you travel! #PORFRA
— LiveSoccerTV.com (@LiveSoccerTV) July 10, 2016
The UEFA Euro 2016 final is a mouthwatering one with a host of big names and duels to look forward to. Above all, the clash between ageing Ronaldo and 25-year-old Antoine Griezmann is the most exciting one as the latter will want to take revenge on the former, following Atletico Madrid’s Champions League final heartbreak against Real Madrid back in May. Portugal are eyeing their first ever major international trophy at senior level whereas France could clinch their third UEFA European Championship title after their 1984 and 2000 triumphs.
Portugal vs France confirmed lineups
Portugal XI: Patrício; Cédric, Pepe, Fonte, Guerreiro; Carvalho; Mário, Silva, Sanches; Ronaldo, Nani.
France XI: Lloris - Sagna, Koscielny, Umtiti, Evra, Pogba, Matuidi, Sissoko, Griezmann, Payet, Giroud.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Follow the game on-the-go
Download our iOS and Android apps to follow soccer on-the-go. It comes packed with features - live scores, fixtures, results, tables, line-ups, stats, TV schedule and much more! Sorry, no live streaming within the app.
