Portugal vs Belgium: 5 key battles to watch out for | UEFA Euro 2020
The Round of 16 of UEFA Euro 2020 has thrown up some mouthwatering match-ups, perhaps earlier than the big teams and their fans would have ideally wanted. Nevertheless, the first knockout round of this year's European Championships promises to be a spectacle to behold for the neutrals.
Old rivals and football royalty, England and Germany, will clash in a marquee UEFA Euro 2020 second-round fixture at Wembley on Tuesday, in perhaps one of the games of the tournament. Meanwhile, two of the game's new elites, Belgium and Portugal, will lock horns in Seville on Monday night.
Portugal, the defending champions, and Belgium, the long-standing no. 1 team in the world, both have a point to prove.
Belgium have seemed seemingly invincible in their run to the Round of 16 at UEFA Euro 2020. They won all their ten qualifiers and all three group games. But the margin for error is now zero for the high-performing, underachieving aces of Belgium's Golden Generation. Despite being a top national team for years, Kevin De Bruyne and co. are yet to make it to the final of a major championship, let alone win one.
It is a different story for Cristiano Ronaldo and his band of boys. The Portuguese Golden Generation of Rui Costa, Luis Figo and co massively underachieved, but Ronaldo's generation has already won two major trophies.
For many, this team is even better than the one that won the last Euros, so Portugal will now be desperate to prove that that success was not a flash in the pan. Having narrowly survived the Group of Death, the reigning champions now face another epic battle in their quest to defend their crown.
On that note, here are the five key battles that could potentially decide the fate of this UEFA Euro 2020 Round-of-16 game.:
#5 Nelson Semedo (Portugal) vs Eden Hazard (Belgium)
Once the hottest prospect of the game, winger Eden Hazard has seen his stock fall after a poor couple of years at his dream club, Real Madrid. But the nifty attacker remains central to Roberto Martinez's plans and has seemed sharp on the ball at UEFA Euro 2020 thus far.
He loves to cut in from the left and will be up against former Barcelona right-back Nelson Semedo on that wing. Semedo is currently enjoying a spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers as part of a sizeable Portuguese contingent. He has recovered from an injury to almost become a certainty for this clash.
Hazard already has one assist at Euro 2020 and may prove to be more than a match for Semedo, who has not yet done full justice to his potential in a fledgling career. But the Portugal international has been decent at Euro 2020, registering a passing accuracy of 82%, 15 ball recoveries and three clearances.
This battle could well determine the fate of the game.
#4 Jan Vertonghen (Belgium) vs Diogo Jota (Portugal)
This will be a classic battle between youth and experience. Jan Vertonghen brings years of big-game nous to the table at the heart of Belgium's defence. Meanwhile, Diogo Jota is the personification of talent in the Portuguese forward line but needs to meld his abilities with more sensibility.
Jota picked up an assist in a classic counter-attacking move for Portugal's opener against Germany in a Euro 2020 humdinger, which the Germans won. But he was often guilty of not passing to Ronaldo in their opening game against Hungary.
Vertonghen will look to put the shackles on the Liverpool forward as part of a strong Belgian back three. This one is another crucial battle that could determine who gets the upper hand in this potential UEFA Euro 2020 classic.