It’s the quarter-final that Luciano Spalletti will be watching with interest, given that if his Italy manages to beat Germany, they’ll face either Denmark or Portugal in the semi-final. First leg at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen and return leg in Lisbon, at the “home” of of Sporting: the Portuguese, after dominating the group, are obviously the favorites to win, but the feeling is that the Scandinavians have what it takes to cause problems and make things difficult for Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates, as long as they manage to avoid defeat in front of their home crowd. In fact, a comeback in Portugal would be very difficult.
With their new coach Brian Riemer, Denmark managed to come second behind Spain last fall, beating the competition of the fearsome Serbia and Switzerland. Eight points in six games for the Danes, who got off to a flying start – two victories in the first two games, both at home – and then came back down to earth after the defeats to the European champions La Roja, who won both the first and second leg. Portugal, on the other hand, were almost perfect in League A Group 1: four wins and two draws for Roberto Martinez’s team, only stopped on their travels by Scotland and Croatia. The Portuguese, as usual, proved to be exceptional in the group stage: it was important to do well especially after a European Championship in which the shadows were certainly greater than the highlights, despite reaching the quarter-finals.
Ronaldo still at the center of everything
For the two matches against Portugal, Riemer will have to do without several key players, from Hojbjerg to Christensen, including Bah, Poulsen and Dolberg.
In attack, Lazio’s Isaksen will get a chance, but also Hojlund (looking for redemption after his unexceptional performances with Manchester United) and Wind. Monaco’s center forward Biereth, on his first call-up to the national team, is also itching to get going. In Portugal everything still revolves around the infinite Ronaldo, who at the age of 40 and beyond continues to score consistently in Saudi Arabia. With the exception of Joao Cancelo, Martinez has called up practically all the most talented players in this team: Joao Neves, Vitinha and Nuno Mendes, who have appeared in great form with PSG in recent games, have a good chance of starting from the 1st minute.
Odds comparison
Portugal’s victory is quoted at 2.15 on Goldbet and Lottomatica and at 2.20 on Snai. The “Under 2.5” sign is quoted at 1.68 on Goldbet and Lottomatica and at 1.70 on Snai.
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The prediction
The most recent previous matches date back about ten years: Portugal has had the better of the last three matches, between Euro 2012 and the qualifiers for the next European Championship. The Lusitanians, full of quality in all departments, should be able to avoid defeat at the Parken too, although it won’t be easy to beat a very tactically organized team that is at its best at home like Denmark: the total number of goals could be less than three, along the lines of Portugal’s last two away games in Croatia and Scotland (0-0 and 1-1).
The probable line-ups for Denmark-Portugal
DENMARK (4-3-3): Schmeichel; Kristensen, Vestergaard, Andersen, Maehle; Eriksen, Hjulmand, Damsgaard; Isaksen, Hojlund, Wind.
PORTUGAL (4-2-3-1): Diogo Costa; Dalot, Antonio Silva, Araujo, Nuno Mendes; Joao Neves, Vitinha; Pedro Neto, Bruno Fernandes, Leao; Cristiano Ronaldo.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 0-1