HAMBURG, Germany — Portugal and France meet in the European Championship quarterfinals on Friday and the match features a head to head between two of soccer’s biggest stars: Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappé.
The winner will play either Spain or host nation Germany in the semifinals. Kickoff is at noon PT in Hamburg.
Here’s what to know about the match:
Match facts
— It’s a match between two of the pre-tournament favorites but neither have been convincing. Portugal hasn’t scored a goal in its last two matches — a 2-0 loss to Georgia and a 0-0 with Slovenia before winning a penalty shootout — while no France player has scored from open play at Euro 2024. The French have had two own-goals and a penalty from Mbappé.
— Ronaldo burst into tears after having a penalty saved in extra time against Slovenia. Appearing in his record sixth European Championship, he has yet to score — if he does, the 39-year-old striker would be the oldest ever scorer at the tournament.
— Mbappé will again be wearing a protective mask after sustaining a broken nose in France’s group opener against Austria. France coach Didier Deschamps said after the last-16 win over Belgium that Mbappé might need to wear the mask for “months.”
— The match will be played exactly 18 years after the nations’ meeting in the 2006 World Cup semifinals, when Zinedine Zidane scored the winner from the penalty spot. Ronaldo played the full match and the player of the match was Lilian Thuram, whose son, Marcus, is likely to feature for France in Hamburg.
Team news
— France midfielder Adrien Rabiot is suspended after collecting two yellow cards. The likelihood is that Antoine Griezmann will drop back into central midfield to cover for Rabiot, with Ousmane Dembele potentially coming into the forward line.
— Portugal coach Roberto Martinez has no players suspended and said all 26 in his squad were healthy for the match.
— Mbappé is one of four France players who will miss the…
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