Euro 2020: Portugal vs Germany

It’s almost a must-win for Germany at the Allianz Arena in Munich on Saturday as they take on a strong Portugal side who will qualify through to the last 16 if they win.

Portugal vs Germany

The Portuguese left it late against Hungary, but eventually ran out comfortable 3-0 winners.

It took a slice of luck to open the scoring after a deflected shot ended up in the back of the net, while Cristiano Ronaldo scored a quickfire brace shortly after to wrap up the win. The third goal was world-class from Portugal who was well deserved for their victory, but it wasn’t all plain sailing.

They had a great first half, but in the second half they struggled to control the game and they could have their struggles here against a German side that should have earned something from their game against France.

It wasn’t to be for Germany which means they have to come out and get a positive result from the game otherwise they’ll be heading home, but Portugal does have quality in abundance that can hurt Germany.

Going forward, Portugal will have the pace that can get at Germany’s backline and that is where France had success. Portugal’s reliance on Cristiano Ronaldo isn’t what it used to be as they do have a lot of players that can hurt teams, with Bruno Fernandes one of those players stating that Ronaldo isn’t the most valuable player at Portugal [1].

If Portugal wins, they’ll be guaranteed to qualify through to the knockout stages, but it will be a tough game in Germany on Saturday.

Germany was unlucky to come away with nothing when they took on world champions France, and they gave everything they had to only come up short. The team performed better in the second half and they had chance after chance to equalize but couldn’t find the quality needed in the final third.

They went with Serge Gnabry up top in the opening game, but that could change after they played better when they made changes to the team. Injury news does have Gnabry missing a training session, as did Klostermann, but Leon Goretzka is back fit and that will be a huge boost [2]. Defensively, there are still questions on the pace of the team at the back and when exploited, they can be gotten at, and that’ll be what Portugal will look to do.

On the counter could be crucial in this game, and Germany will have to be wary of the pace that Portugal will have on the transition, but they’ll also have to push up to create chances and there will be a lot of space in this game. It should be open and exciting as both sides will want to win the game, but it isn’t quite gung ho yet for Germany unless they go down in the match.

Prediction: Portugal to win

I feel Portugal will take it as they have a lot going forward and are generally solid at the back.

They’re a team that is full of talented players all over the pitch while Germany does lack in certain areas, despite the quality they also do have.

It’ll be a close game but Cristiano Ronaldo could once again show up as he generally does in huge games and he’ll get everyone fired up for this one as a win will secure them qualifying through to the next stage of the tournament.