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regular-article-logo Monday, 30 December 2024

Euro 2020: Cristiano Ronaldo chases record; France, Germany on rare collision course

The Juventus main man will look forward to going past Michel Platini’s goals tally in the Euros. Didier Deschamps’ men will eye victory in Munich

Our Bureau Published 15.06.21, 02:42 PM
France take on Germany at the Allianz Arena.

France take on Germany at the Allianz Arena. Facebook/Joe Kingham

It’s time for the spotlight to focus on Cristiano Ronaldo. The Juventus main man will target more than just a win when Portugal meet Hungary at the Ferenc Puskas Stadium tonight. A goal will take Ronaldo past Michel Platini as the highest scorer in the European Championship, and as the tournament moves ahead, he will lick his chops in anticipation of breaking Ali Daei’s record of the highest goals for a men’s international team. After Portugal and Hungary battle it out, the focus will shift towards heavyweights Germany and France, who will meet in a group stage encounter for the first time in the Euros or World Cup.

Let’s take a look at what’s in store tonight:

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Portugal vs Hungary (9:30 pm IST)
Venue: Ferenc Puskas Stadium

Defending champions Portugal will look forward to becoming the second team to win two consecutive European Championship titles. The first side to achieve the feat was Spain (2008 and 2012). Amid rumours of a Juventus exit, the 36-year-old’s prime focus is his national team. “I've been playing at a high level for 18 years, it doesn’t even tickle me. If I were starting now, being 18 or 19 maybe, I wouldn't sleep thinking about my future. But as you can calculate by now, at 36-years-old... whatever comes will be for the good, regardless of whether one stays or leaves, that's not the most important thing now. The focus is on the national team. A competition of this magnitude you don't play every day,” he said during a media interaction on Tuesday.

Bruno Fernandes had a superb season at Manchester United, earning the Premier League's Player of the Month award four times in his second season. He finished in the Premier League's Team of the Year and scored 28 goals overall, also helping United reach the Europa League final. In a recent match against Israel, Portugal coach Fernando Santos deployed Fernandes, Silva, Jota and Ronaldo together in a 4-0 win.

Up against a solid Portugal line-up, Hungary are likely to struggle. In this edition, they will sorely miss the now retired Zoltan Gera, who won the goal of the tournament award in the Euro 2016. Dominik Szoboszlai, who withdrew from the tournament two weeks ago because of a persistent adductor injury, will also be missed.

Players to watch out for:

Ronaldo is not the only threat for Hungary. There’s the standout Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Liverpool forward Diogo Jota, who scored 13 goals for Liverpool last season. In Szoboszlai’s absence, Hungary will rely majorly on FSV Mainz striker Adam Szalai for the goals.

France vs Germany (12:30 am IST, Wednesday)
Venue: Allianz Arena

France and Germany last met each other in Euro 2016. The then World Cup champions were humbled by an Antoine Griezmann brace in the semi-finals. Thomas Muller, who has been recalled to the side after a two-year hiatus, missed a penalty in the Euro 2016 quarter-final clash versus Italy. In their recent outings, Germany looked solid in a 1-1 draw against Denmark and then gathered the much-needed confidence with a 7-1 rout of Latvia.

This will be Germany coach Joachim Low’s last tournament, after which Hansi Flick will take over the top job. With all their three group stage games in Munich, the Germans will hope to cash in on the home advantage.

France are vying to become the first country to twice hold both the European and World Cup titles at the same time. France coach Didier Deschamps won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 as a player and could repeat the feat as coach. Apart from France, only West Germany and Spain have held both titles at the same time. The 33-year-old Benzema has recovered from an injury picked up in France’s 3-0 warm-up win over Bulgaria on June 8. He made his comeback in a 3-0 win over Wales four days before that, when he had a penalty saved and hit the post. Griezmann has also recovered from a minor injury.

Deschamps is not in the mood to take the Germans lightly. “There is individual quality in each position but the players can play in very different positions, they can be flexible, which is difficult to play against. There are players like (Timo) Werner or (Leroy) Sane who have a very different playing style and tomorrow we will see who is playing in attack for Germany,” he said at a news conference on Monday.

Players to watch out for:

Low recalled the experienced Muller and Mats Hummels for this year's competition and their return appears to have had the desired effect. France's fearsome front three of Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema will most likely be relied upon by Deschamps. Also watch out for N'Golo Kante in the midfield.

Germany will face Portugal on June 19, four days before their last game in Group F against Hungary. France play Hungary on June 19 in Budapest, and stay on in the city to face Portugal on June 23.

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