The second match in the Euro 2020 triple header on Saturday is another one of those tantalising matches which we all looked forward to when the draw was made as Portugal take on Germany at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
These two teams had very different results in their opening match of the group. Portugal picked up three points in the match against Hungary and avoiding defeat here will send them into the knockout stages. Germany lost their first game and can ill afford a second defeat here.
Where to watch
We are off over to ITV1 for this second match of the day. The lead up to the action begins at 4pm with the match kicking off an hour later at 5pm.
Portugal
It looked like it was going to be a frustrating afternoon for Portugal in their opening match of the competition against Hungary but in the end they ran out comfortable winners. There might have been a shade of an over exaggeration to score at the end of the game but there is no doubting Portugal were deserved winners even if they weren’t three goals better than their hosts. In saying that, the defending champions did miss some gilt-edged chances so maybe that margin of victory was fair.
The big thing for Portugal in that opening game is that Cristiano Ronaldo hit the ground running. He has a brace of goals to his name and you sense he might go from strength to strength now. Portugal did well to open up a packed Hungarian defence and they are likely to find creating chances much easier here. This will be the time we can judge Portugal on their defence though. It wasn’t tested much at all in that opening game.
Germany
If anything I thought the score flattered the Germans in the opening match. They only lost 1-0 to France to a goal that they scored themselves but it felt like France were much more dominant than that and that they controlled the game a lot more. In truth, I didn’t really like the German performance in that first game. I admit they were up against the team who will probably win the tournament but I didn’t really see much of a plan, particularly in attacking areas.
That was strange because in front of their own fans I expected Germany to take the game to France and try and expose them but they never really did and there wasn’t a time in that match where you felt the world champions were under siege. Germany have a lot of attacking options for this tournament but you sense a lack of form and confidence might be an issue with too many of them. The other issue is their defence. It is a weakness that stares you in the face and there is no getting away from it.
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Team News
Germany are going to be without Lukas Klostermann for this match with the right-back picking up a thigh injury in training which could see him miss the remainder of the tournament. Matthias Ginter went off in the first game and will be assessed.
Portugal have a doubt over the fitness of left-back Nuno Mendes but with Raphael Guerrero scoring in the opening game he wasn’t going to feature in this match anyway. It may well be an unchanged side for the defending champions in this match.
Betting
I don’t see what Germany have going for them here. There was a lot of talk going into the tournament about their attacking options but they used all of them at different times in the opening match and yet never offered much from any of them. Portugal are not massively weaker defensively than France, they might even be stronger as a unit. The other thing against Germany here is the onus is on them to win the game. Portugal don’t need to come out at all as a draw sees them into the next phase.
That doesn’t mean I don’t think Portugal will come out because when you have the pace and power of Cristiano Ronaldo and Diogo Jota as well as the skill and trickery of Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes, there is no point is sitting back completely. We saw France kill Germany on the counter attack in the first game without being ruthless at the end of it. I see no reason why Portugal can’t do the same here and we know Ronaldo will be clinical. I get they are effectively the away side here but I’m amazed Portugal are as big as they are. I’ll take them without the draw in this one.
Tips
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