Portugal aim to spoil French party
Portugal will look to spoil the French party in their Euro 2016 clash on Sunday and claim a first major tournament trophy.
|||Paris – Hosts France are aiming to win their third European Championship on Sunday when they face Portugal in the Euro 2016 final with the outcome potentially hinging on the teams’ attacking talismans Cristiano Ronaldo and Antoine Griezmann.
France, who have beaten Portugal in their last 10 confrontations since 1978, have previously lifted the trophy in 1984 and 2000.
Portugal will be out to spoil the French party by claiming a first major tournament trophy after their most recent final appearance ended in a bitter loss to Greece as hosts of Euro 2004.
The final will feature a clash of styles as Didier Deschamps’ pacey, attacking French team face Fernando Santos’s tactically astute and organised Portugal side.
The outcome could depend heavily on the two men wearing the number seven shirt - Portugal’s Ronaldo and France’s Griezmann, who faced each other in the Champions League final six weeks ago. On that occasion, Ronaldo’s Real Madrid beat Griezmann’s Atletico on penalties.
Griezmann is the tournament’s top scorer with six goals, while Ronaldo has notched three.
Should France triumph, it will be their third major tournament success on home soil after they won the European title in 1984 and the World Cup in 1998.
– Reuters