The No. 1 ranked team in the world will take on the reigning European champions in a round of 16 clash on Sunday. This match will be played at the Estadio La Cartuja in Seville.
Roberto Matinez-led side had a comfortable group stage campaign, which saw them topping the Group B standings. They started off with a game against Russia, where they secured three points by scoring as many goals.
The second game was the only occasion where they trailed in this competition, as Denmark opened the scoring in the second minute of the match. Belgium not only managed to find the equalizer but also overturned the deficit, thanks to goals from Thorgan Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne.
Finland managed to hold Belgium to a 0-0 stalemate till the 74th minute in the Red Devils’ last group stage match, but Belgium could secure all three points once again. They are one of the three teams who are coming into the knockout stages on the back of three consecutive wins in the group stage, with Italy and the Netherlands being the other two.
While Belgium were one of the first teams to seal their place in the round of 16, Portugal left it very late. They started off similarly as well, as they defeated Hungary by a margin of 3-0.
The second game against Germany was when things went wrong for A Selecao. They lost the game by a margin of 4-2, with two of Germany’s four goals being scored by Portuguese players. In the game against France, they took the lead in the 31st minute, courtesy of a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty.
But right before half-time, France got an equalizer, courtesy of another penalty. Les Bleus scored first in the second half, and at that point of time, Hungary was winning in their tie against Germany. Had both matches ended at that point, Portugal would have found themselves at the very bottom of the pile in Group F.
Fortunately for them, that was not the case to be, as Ronaldo’s second goal of the day secured a point for Portugal, while in the other match, Germany also scored a late goal to finalize their place in Round of 16. Portugal’s journey so far in this competition has not been a very smooth one, but it has to be remembered that they won the last edition of this competition after finishing third in their group.
Key Players
Cristiano Ronaldo is only one goal away from creating history by becoming the highest goal-scorer in international men’s football in the history of the game. The Portuguese icon is currently tied with Iran’s Ali Daei in terms of the number of goals scored for the country – 109. The form is on his side, as he is currently the leading goal-scorer of the competition with 5 goals.
Though now at the dusk of his career, Pepe is still playing as a rock in Portugal’s backline. He will be entrusted with the immensely difficult task of keeping a world-class attack, one that features the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, quiet for 90 minutes, if not more. The veteran has the best figure from Portugal in terms of balls recovered, 18, while he also has completed 184 passes at a passing accuracy of nearly 90%.
While a place in the quarter-final will be at stake in this contest, there will be another mini-contest on Sunday, with the golden boot at stake. Ronaldo is currently leading the race, but Romelu Lukaku is not a long way behind with 3 goals. He also has 7 attempts to his name, which is the most by any Belgium player.
Midfield maestro Kevin De Bruyne came as a substitute in the match against Denmark and changed the game almost single-handedly. In the limited opportunities he has got, owing to a facial injury, the Manchester City player has given two assists and also registered his name on the score-sheet on one occasion.
Prediction
Just like their squad strength on paper, the head-to-head stats of these two teams are also very similar. While Portugal have won 6 games against Belgium, the Red Devils have come out victoriously on 7 occasions.
Recent results are inclined in Portugal’s favour, as they are unbeaten against Belgium in the last five meetings between these two teams.
However, on the basis of the current form, Belgium might have the edge.
Martinez’s men are unbeaten in their last 12 matches, while Portugal have lost two of their previous 10 games. Hence, Belgium are the favourites for this tie, but only by the narrowest of margins.
