France face Portugal in the 2024 European Championships quarter-final match this Friday which sees multiple AC Milan stars involved.
Both France and Portugal have struggled for form, with France finishing second in their group, whilst Portugal won their group but were taken to penalties by Slovenia in their last 16 match.
Milan stars Mike Maignan and Theo Hernandez have been key for France, with both playing every single minute for France at Euro 2024. France have struggled for goals this tournament and have only scored once from the penalty spot, with their other 2 goals coming from own goals.
Despite their poor form in attack, Maignan and Hernandez can be proud of their performances as the goalkeeper and full-back have kept 3 clean sheets and only conceded one goal.
They will be facing Milan team mate Rafael Leao, who has featured prominently in three of Portugal’s 4 games. Despite playing a lot of minutes, it hasn’t been the best tournament for the left-winger. Leao is yet to pick up a goal or assist and he has been booked for diving twice. This saw him suspended for Portugal’s last Euro 2024 group stage match.
Despite only scoring one goal themselves and also scoring no goals from open play, France are the favourites to advance to the next round. Both nations do have a strong squad, so it will be a tight match between the two. France and Portugal met in the Euro 2016 final, with the latter winning the match.
They also met at the 2020 European Championships, with the match ending in a 2-2 draw. France will be hoping to pick up a win against their opponents for the first time since 2015.
If Portugal are to win, then Leao is going to have to get back to his best as he faces up against 2 of his AC Milan team mates, who will be feeling confident of shutting their opponents out, especially after Portugal failed to score against Slovenia in 120 minutes in their last match.
Former AC Milan star Olivier Giroud, who left the Rossoneri this summer, is also in the France squad. The 37 year old has only had cameo appearances so far, with the striker playing 45 minutes in this tournament.
Despite the two nations not being at their best, this upcoming quarter-final is no doubt one which everyone cannot wait to watch as 2 heavyweights meet in this tournament.
