Friday night football doesn’t really get much better. The first set of Euro 2024 Quarter-Finals get underway, and the late game sees Portugal vs France – Ronaldo vs Mbappe. It’s fair to say that both these nations have been far from convincing, despite both making it to the Quarter Finals. Both sides were backed heavily pre-tournament to be big contenders for the trophy, but they’ll have to step it up if they want to win this competition.
Despite their huge array of attacking talent, Portugal have now gone 2 games without scoring. They failed to break down Slovenia in the last 16 over 120 minutes, and lost 2-0 (albeit) a slightly weaker side vs Georgia. France also only just got past Belgium in a very narrow, unconvincing 1-0 victory. France have scored just 3 goals in their 4 Euro 2024 games, with their games averaging just 1.00 match goals per game.
I think this game will be a tense and cagey encounter. With both managers known for adopting a slightly defensive, cautious approach – despite their unbelievable attacking talent, I think this could be a chess match with strategies and tactics. Both sides can defend well – especially France, but both sides don’t look like they can score on multiple occasions.
I am pairing Under 2.5 Match Goals with Mbappe shots. This selection doesn’t need to much explaining really. Mbappe is the talisman, the man for the big occasion. So far in the Euros he’s recorded: 4, 6 & 5 shots. Mbappe has recorded 3+ shots in 25/28 France games.
TIP: Under 2.5 Match Goals & Mbappe O1.5 Shots @ 1.83
