History Beckons as Portugal, France Go for Broke
Whichever way the tide turned to in Sunday’s Euro 2016 final between Portugal and host nation, France, history is bound to be made. While Portugal would be hoping to win the championship for the first time in the country’s football history, Les Bleus woul
Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal will face France in the Euro 2016 final after the tournament hosts beat world champions Germany 2-0 on Thursday. Didier Deschamps’ side will face Portugal at the Stade de France looking to complete a hat-trick of tournament victories on home soil. With Antoine Griezmann once more irrepressible with two goals against Germany, they will be strong favourites to do that.
Portugal had already secured their place in the final on Wednesday night with a 2-0 victory against Wales.Ronaldo put Portugal ahead with a superb header from a corner five minutes into the second half, and Wales were soon two goals behind before they had time to regroup.
France were twice the European Champions in 1984 they hosted and 2000 co-hosted by Belgium and Netherlands. They were also the hosts when they won their only FIFA World Cup title in 1998.
Portugal on the other hand didn’t break a sweat to defeat Wales 2-0 in the semifinals. It seems like Fernando Santos got his tactics right for the first time in the tournament. The win against Wales was also Portugal’s first ever in this competition inside the regulation 90 minutes.
Portugal have never won a major tournament in their footballing history. They finished as runners up in 2004 after losing to Greece in front of their home fans by a single goal. They were also semifinalists on three occasions – 1984, 2000, 2012.
These two sides had met in the European Championships in 1984 and 2000 and both clashes were in the semifinals and on both occasions France went on to win the championship. Interestingly either of these ties were won by France in the added extra time.
Their only other meeting in a competitive match was in the semifinals of 1996 FIFA World Cup in Germany and in Munich, a penalty by Zinedine Zidane send France into the finals. Portugal finished the tournament fourth after losing the third-place play-off to Germany, while France lost the finals in penalty shoot-out to Italy.
However, France may have ousted rivals Germany for the first time in 58 years but it will mean nothing if they lose Sunday's Euro 2016 final against a Portugal team that have had more recovery time, said Didier Deschamps.
"We have three days before the final, it's very short so we have to savour this victory. It's an important step forward but the most important step is Sunday. We're going to do everything in our power to go into Sunday's game in the best possible condition," coach Deschamps told reporters.
"It's an excellent result and it's been a long time since we beat Germany but it gives us nothing today. There is now a title to play for against Portugal. Just because we are at home and beat Germany doesn't give us extra powers. They believe in themselves and we believe in ourselves too," he added. The 2-0 win was the same as when the two sides met in Paris in November when Islamist militants struck at the Stade de France national stadium and other sites across Paris.
"It's a great emotion, we had to suffer but never gave up and that's great for me. This is a great story, the players wrote history by knocking out Germany. We don't have the power to solve people's problems but we can give them a bit so they can forget their worries. We generate passion and fervour, we can see that and in France today we gave them a little joy," said Deschamps.
Deschamps said he and his players have already made history just by securing a place in the Euro 2016 final with a 2-0 win over Germany in Marseille..
If Les Bleus claim the trophy in Paris, they would equal Germany and Spain with their third European Championship triumph, but Deschamps said history has already been written.
"We have already," he said about securing his side's place in history. "It was a long time since we'd beaten Germany but that didn't mean anything today (Thursday). We're into the final and there's a trophy up for grabs.I'm delighted for the players, it was a very tough game against a team who made us suffer but we suffered together.When you see the passion and the fervour in the stands around the ground... This team has
What makes this matchup even more interesting is just how influential both players have been to their national teams. Aside from his three goals for A Seleçao, CR7 has assisted his teammates three times, while Griezmann has handed out two. With the recent history between these two players, fans are keeping their fingers crossed for a topcaliber showdown.
everything it takes to be loved. It's a great emotion we had to suffer but never gave up and that's great for me."
Deschamps was captain of the France team that won the 1998 World Cup as hosts, said winning the Euro trophy would be a moment his players would not forget.
"I had my share of finals as a player," he said. "I'm very proud as a coach and proud of my players, it's not that I'm not happy personally but it's mainly for the players. When I wore this shirt it was the proudest moment of my career.There should be nothing above the French shirt for the players; perhaps that's not always been the case but they're now very aware of what they can give to people when they're wearing this shirt for."
Deschamps said goalkeeper Hugo Lloris put in a "crucial" performance, but he reserved special praise for Griezmann, who fired France in front from the penalty spot in the closing seconds of a first half in which they had been under pressure.
Griezmann wrapped up a memorable night for the tournament hosts when he steered the ball home after Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer had flapped at a cross from Paul Pogba.
"Antoine is a great player and he proved that again tonight in everything he did," Deschamps said. "He works very hard and, along with Olivier Giroud, from a defensive perspective he made sure we were a very compact unit.
"He's a very important player, as he has been for Atletico all season. At the Euro, he's scored goals, set up teammates and got others around him playing well."
Though he stopped short of proclaiming his side as favourites, Deschamps did acknowledge France enter the final with plenty of momentum.
"We have our chances and so do Portugal," he said. "As host nation, and because we've knocked out Germany, that doesn't give us extra powers. We believe in ourselves; so do Portugal,” he said.
France are on an eight match winning run against Portugal across all formats. They have a strong record at home after winning in 12 of the 15 games, while losing just twice.
Meanwhile, another interesting twist to Sunday’s final is the personality of two individualsCristiano Ronaldo and Antoine Griezmann .On May 28, the Portugese had the final laugh against Griezmann in the UEFA Champions League final. Less than two months later, fate will have both footballers meeting again in a title-deciding match. Will the French star have a chance to redeem himself in front of his countrymen?
Both players led their clubs in the goal scoring department, and it's turned out to be exactly the same in the continental competition. Ronaldo is Portugal's top scorer this summer with three goals, but Griezmann leads all strikers with a massive six-goal tally prior to the final match.
What makes this matchup even more interesting is just how influential both players have been to their national teams. Aside from his three goals for A Seleçao, CR7 has assisted his team-mates three times, while Griezmann has handed out two.
With the recent history between these two players, fans are keeping their fingers crossed for a top-caliber showdown.