The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsPortugal square off against a determined Wales side in Lyon looking to seal an elusive spot in the final of the European Championships of 2016. Wales, who overcame the tough task of Belgium in the previous round, have made it to the last four for the first time in their footballing history, while the Portuguese are looking to make it to their second final in four competitions.
The two teams rightly labeled as ‘dark horses’ before the tournament even kicked off, have had contrasting results so far. Portugal have made it to the last four having never won a game inside 90 minutes, drawing all three group games, beating Croatia after extra-time and overcoming Poland on penalties.
Wales, on the other hand, have been in blistering form. They’ve scored 10 goals at the tournament so far, with only hosts France scoring more (11), and have two of the best players of the tournament in the form of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey.
Renato Sanches has been a shining light in this dull run so far for Portugal, the 18-year-old becoming the youngest player to score in the knockout rounds of a Euros tournament when he scored his brilliant equalizer against Poland. He’s been able to control the tempo of the midfield and the overall speed of the game with his intelligience and is a sign of things to come for new club Bayern Munich.
Despite the glory that Wales have had, they will be without star man Aaron Ramsey and defender Ben Davies will be suspended for the clash with Leicester’s Andy King and West Ham’s Jack Collins set to replace the two. Portugal are without midfielder William Carvalho, who is set for a place in the stands. Both sides have no significant injury problems.
The winner of this semi-final will square off against the winner of the other semi-final between France and Germany at the wonderful Stade de France in Saint-Denis on July the 10th.
PREDICTED STARTING TEAMS:
Portugal: Rui Patricio; Cedric, Pepe, Jose Fonte, Eliseu; Renato Sanches, Danilo Pereira, Joao Mario, Andre Silva; Nani, Cristiano Ronaldo
Wales: Wayne Hennessey; Jack Collins, Ashley Williams, James Chester; Joe Ledley, Joe Allen, Andy King, Neil Taylor, Chris Gunter; Hal Robson-Kanu, Gareth Bale
PRE-MATCH FACTS
- Cristiano Ronaldo could become the first player to score in two European Championship semi-finals in 1964
- No matter what the result is at the end of the night, this is Wales’ best ever tournament run.
- Gareth Bale has had more shots on target than any other player at Euro 2016 (14).
- Portugal have played the most games (33) in the history of the European Championship without ever winning the tournament.
- Wales are the first Euro debutants to reach the last four since Sweden in 1992.
WHAT THEY SAID:
“We’ll be the underdogs, but we believe in each other” – Wales manager Chris Coleman
“Of course, Wales and Iceland are the teams everyone likes, because nobody expected them to get this far”; “I’m not worried about being the ugly duckling or someone who feels sorry for himself. I’m interested about getting to the final and winning it” – Portugal manager Fernando Santos
