Portugal just edged past Croatia in the round of 16 thanks to a 117th-minute header from Ricardo Quaresma to set up a quarterfinal clash with Poland, who arrived at this stage after winning on penalties against Switzerland.
Ryan Hubbard (Poland) against Tom Kundert (Portugal) assess who is set to come out on top.
Who's performed better so far?
Ryan Hubbard: By reaching the knockout rounds, Poland's minimum expectation was achieved, and with victory over Switzerland their target was hit. Now the pressure is off -- not that they have seemed to play with any pressure on them, anyway.
Robert Lewandowski and Arkadiusz Milik haven't quite lived up to their hype, but many others have exceeded theirs. For most of the tournament the Biale Orly have played with confidence and composure, proving that their tag of "dark horses" has been justified.
Meanwhile Portugal have been largely underwhelming, but have still shown their real quality on occasion. They, too, have areas in which they can improve, and whoever does so the quickest stands the best chance of reaching the semifinals.
Tom Kundert: Portugal reached at least the quarterfinals in each of their six European Championship appearances prior to this one, so failure to advance to the last eight would have been a major disappointment.
The win against a tough Croatia side led to a certain level of jubilation, especially given the dramatic nature of the victory, but the feeling is that the team has not performed to their full potential. Raphael Guerreiro, Nani and Renato Sanchez are notable exceptions -- all three have been excellent.
Poland look strong at the back and have been consistent with their performances, so Portugal will have to up their game if they hope to reach the semifinals.
Key battle
RH: Poland's centre-backs vs. Cristiano Ronaldo
Undoubtedly, Poland's defensive duo of Michal Pazdan and Kamil Glik have been two of their most-consistent performers in the tournament. The no-nonsense pair have snuffed-out almost all of the attacks they have come up against, with the only goal squeezed past them being Xherdan Shaqiri's phenomenal scissor-kick.
They may not have yet pitted themselves against a player of Cristiano Ronaldo's talent, and dealing with his movement and trickery will be their biggest test to date; however with both in imperious form they will feel confident in being able to bully the Real Madrid star out of the game. If so, it could be another frustrating night for Portugal's leader.
TK: Renato Sanches vs. Grzegorz Krychowiak
Poland have conceded just one goal in four matches at Euro 2016 and, in addition to their rock solid central defensive partnership, the brilliant form of Grzegorz Krychowiak, who has swept up everything in front of the back for, has been a major reason for Poland's success in thwarting the opposition.
Renato Sanches was superb against Croatia when he came on after half-time and the ability of the newly acquired Bayern Munich midfielder to drive Portugal forward Portugal the middle and physically impose his will on the match should make for a fascinating duel with Krychowiak.
Star man
RH: Jakub Blaszczykowski
Poland have been forced to show less reliance on their two front men and it is Jakub Blaszczykowski who has stepped in to fill the void. With two goals in his last two appearances, he is playing some of the best football of his career; both his match-winner against Ukraine and opener against the Swiss were of the highest calibre.
Blaszczykowski will look to drift inside from the wing, while his link-up play with Lukasz Piszczek will prove to be one of the Poles' major threats. However, up against new Borussia Dortmund teammate Raphael Guerreiro, one of Portugal's best-performing players.
TK: Joao Mario
Save for 45 minutes against Hungary, Joao Mario has thus far failed to replicate the brilliant form he showed at club level for Sporting Clube de Portugal in 2015-16. In the game against Croatia, Portugal put their focus on denying the opposition space in order to cancel out the emphasis of their most creative attackers.
But against Poland, they will likely expend more energy on laying the foundations for their chief creative players to shine. A player of Mario's inventiveness could be the key to victory.
Prediction
RH: Poland 1-0 Portugal
Poland will be forced to defend, but during their time in France they have done so well. The counterattack has been the Poles' most lethal weapon and that's how they can look to nick this one.
TK: Poland 0-1 Portugal
Winning narrowly with late goals has been a feature of coach Fernando Santos' tenure with the national team and my hunch is that this formula will be evident again in Marseille.
espn
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