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Euro Betting – France Roll into Final vs Portugal

Zack Garrison

by Zack Garrison in News

Updated Jan 17, 2018 · 9:39 AM PST

Portugal (+380) vs France (-110), Draw (+215)

Twelve years after losing the Euro final at home, Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal (2-0-4) have a chance for redemption this Sunday, taking on host France (5-0-1) in the 2016 title game at the Stade de France in Paris (July 10th, 3:00 PM Eastern).

Back in 2004, Ronaldo and Portugal were massive favorites heading into the final against Greece. The pressure seemed to get to them at home, though, and they failed to capture their first ever Euro championship. This time around, the pressure is squarely on the other side of the field as France enter the finale as big favorites on home soil.

Including a 120-minute draw with Poland in the quarterfinals, which they eventually won on penalties, Portugal has drawn four of its six games in the tournament. Indeed, they didn’t win a game in the Group Stage, drawing what should have been three overmatched opponents: Iceland, Austria, and Hungary.

They’ve looked much better in the Knockout Stage, ousting Croatia and Wales in addition to Poland. Their 2-0 win over Wales in the semis was arguably their best game of the tournament. It’s no coincidence that it was also Ronaldo’s best game of the tournament. The Real Madrid star opened the scoring early in the second half, heading home a corner. He helped seal the win by setting up Nani for Portugal’s second tally.

He’s not going to have the same room to operate come Sunday, in all likelihood, as France boast a much stronger backline than Wales. They gave up their share of chances to the world champs from Germany in the semifinals – and were largely outplayed in the game, as a whole – but emerged with a 2-0 win thanks to two mental lapses from Germany’s own defense.

Antoine Griezmann notched both goals for France, the first on a penalty late in the opening stanza. Now with six goals in six matches, the young striker is poised to win player of the tournament if France can claim the trophy. But, just as the French defense will key on Ronaldo, the Portuguese defense will mark Griezmann very closely. That means the likes of Paul Pogba and Dimitri Payet will need to do their part in order for France to generate chances.

The last time Portugal and France met was in a 2015 friendly, a game France won 1-0. They last met in the Euro back in 2008; France again claimed victory, 2-1 in extra time. Portugal are playing their best at the right time, but France seem destined to claim the title on their home soil and, looking past the obvious stars, have a slightly deeper roster. I’ll roll with Les Bleus. 

Pick: France (-110).

(Photo Credit: Dagur Brynjólfsson (Flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/])

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