At the Stozice Arena, in Ljubljana, Jorge Braz’s men face an opponent who, despite being only their second appearance in the European finals, was fourth in the last World Cup, in which Portugal finished ‘fourth’.
France is one of the teams that has grown the most in the sport in recent years and has once again reached the semi-finals of a major competition, once and for all cementing its position among the best continental teams and candidates for the title.
However, Portugal holds the last two tournaments and experience could be a crucial factor in the matchwhich starts at 8:30 pm (7:30 pm in Lisbon), right after the first semi-final, which will pit record holder Spain against the Croatian team.
The ‘quinas’ team overcame the group stage with distinction, after victories against Italy (6-2), Hungary (5-1) and Poland (3-2), in a full of triumphs which they followed up in the quarter-finals, with an impressive victory against Belgium, by 8-2.
France entered with a 2-2 draw against Croatia, also a semi-finalist, and then took the lead in the group with victories against hosts Latvia, 5-0, and Georgia, 3-1, eliminating Ukraine in the ‘quarters’ (4-2, after extra time).
Furthermore, Frenchman Souheil Mouhoudine equaled Belgian Omar Rahou, already out of the competition, at the top of the list of top scorers, with six goals, although the French team will be without Abdessamad Mohammed, due to suspension.
With Croatian Nikola Jelic and Slovenian Ales Mocnik Peric refereed, Portugal and France will enter the field knowing the first finalist, as Spain and Croatia will face each other, also at the Stozice Arena, at 5:00 pm (4:00 pm in Lisbon).
