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Cristiano Ronaldo
Will Cristiano Ronaldo lead Portugal into the last four? Photograph: Francisco Leong/AFP/Getty Images
Will Cristiano Ronaldo lead Portugal into the last four? Photograph: Francisco Leong/AFP/Getty Images

Euro 2016 quarter-final previews

This article is more than 7 years old

Poland v Portugal, Thursday 8pm BST, Marseille

Kicking off the quarter-finals on Thursday night, Poland make their first appearance at this stage of a European Championship against a side well practiced in these occasions. Portugal have now reached the last eight for six consecutive Euros – the only country to have done so – and have won three of their last four quarter-finals in this competition.

Before the tournament any meeting between these two sides would have been billed as Robert Lewandowski versus Cristiano Ronaldo but, given their struggles this summer, the stage is set for someone else to step in from the shadows and steal the limelight. The Bayern Munich striker was among the favourites to be top scorer before a ball was kicked but he hasn’t found the net thus far, while Ronaldo, who was the outright favourite to win the Golden Boot, has only scored in one match.

Infographic: WhoScored

Ronaldo may have two goals to his name but has mustered a massive 31 shots to reach that total. Tellingly, just one of these efforts came in a pretty dire knockout game against Croatia, with the Portugal captain looking off the pace. After his fitness concerns before the tournament, the games seem to be coming too fast for him.

Instead of their relying on Lewandowski, Poland have leant on a defence that had its doubters and the superb defensive midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak. The Sevilla helps them regain possession (3.3 tackles per game) and instigate counter-attacks from deep – with the most passes per game (56.3) and best accuracy (84.9%) among Poland players – and he may be hot property during the summer transfer window.

Given that Portugal are yet to win a game in regular time and Poland have struggled to hit the target, let alone find the net, these two sides could be forced to go the distance in back-to-back matches.

Wales v Belgium, Friday 8pm, Lille

Michy Batshuayi celebrates after scoring for Belgium in their last-16 match against Hungary. Photograph: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

Wales’ clash with Belgium boasts a number of the stars of the tournament so far. Gareth Bale has led from the front for Chris Coleman’s side, rising to the expectations of a nation, while both Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard have shone as the tournament has progressed. The Manchester City playmaker leads the way in our player ratings (8.35), with Bale just behind (8.33) and Hazard a close third (8.22).

De Bruyne tops the leaderboard at the tournament for key passes (22), Bale has taken the most shots on target (13) and Hazard has completed the most dribbles (22). With such supreme attacking talent on display, Friday night’s game could be the most entertaining quarter-final.

Infographic: WhoScored

The two sides met in qualifying, of course, with the four points Wales earned against group winners Belgium ensuring their safe passage to France. The teams have not changed much since Wales beat Belgium 1-0 last June. Bale and Aaron Ramsey started that match behind Hal Robson-Kanu, with Ben Davies most likely the only player who come into the side on Friday after missing the game last year.

Marc Wilmots has a similar selection dilemma as he did that night. Belgium were without Vincent Kompany and Thomas Vermaelen through injury at the time, with the former still sidelined and the latter now suspended. Young Jason Denayer was given the nod that night and is again in line to start, unless Jan Vertonghen moves infield and Jordan Lukaku comes in at left-back. Either way Wales will fancy their chances of troubling a makeshift defence, but they need Ashley Williams to be fit and ready for a physical battle with the elder Lukaku, following an arm injury suffered against Northern Ireland. Bale was restricted to just one shot the last time these sides met, but that was all he needed to settle the game.

Germany v Italy, Saturday 8pm, Bordeaux

Will Antonio Conte take Italy to the semi-finals? Photograph: Alex Grimm/Uefa/Getty Images

Italy’s reward for a superb performance against holders Spain is a glamorous quarter-final with world champions Germany. The Azzurri have defied the odds and critics by making it this far. Perhaps the injuries that ruled out star midfielders Claudio Marchisio and Marco Verratti galvanised a squad that lacks exceptional quality beyond their sensational defence.

Éder and Graziano Pellè have been a strong little-and-large partnership up front, particularly against Spain, despite the fact that the former was in dismal form for Inter following a move at the turn of the year as the latter fell down the pecking order at Southampton. The return of Antonio Candreva gives Antonio Conte a selection dilemma. He is one of the most talented players in his squad but Italy performed so admirably in his absence against Spain.

Infographic: WhoScored

Germany are gaining pace and have improved markedly since Mario Gómez was brought into the starting XI. The Besiktas striker has offered a different route to goal, and comparisons have been drawn with Jogi Löw’s decision mid-tournament to bring Miroslav Klose back into the line-up at the World Cup two years ago. The striker has now scored in each of his last four international starts, while Joshua Kimmich’s introduction at right-back has also paid dividends.

Since the duo have come in for Mario Götze and Benedikt Howedes, Germany have fired off 49 shots and conceded just nine, albeit against relatively weak opposition. Italy have proven to be far from that though, mixing it with Spain to have more shots (seven to two), more possession (51.2%) and a better pass accuracy (84%) at half time in their last-16 tie. And they are Germany’s bogey team, having never lost to them at a major tournament.

France v Iceland, Sunday 8pm, Saint-Denis

Iceland players celebrate after the biggest result in their history. Photograph: Bertrand Langlois/AFP/Getty Images

Hosts France have been re-established as favourites to win the tournament given their favourable draw, but they must not fall into the same trap as England. Iceland’s last-16 victory will go down as one of the greatest upsets in European Championship history, though that game proved that this Iceland side have made it this far on merit.

Iceland’s match against England was arguably their most comfortable of the tournament to date – they ended the game with more shots on target than Roy Hodgson’s side (five to four). Lars Lagerback came into the job with the aim of organising the team into a unit and the win over England was a masterclass in that sense. While Iceland are yet to keep a clean sheet at Euro 2016, they have conceded just once in all four of their games. They have beaten Turkey, the Czech Republic, Holland, Austria and England in recent competitive outings and should not be underestimated.

Infographic: WhoScored

France have struggled to meet expectations so far and they remain the only side in the tournament who have not scored a goal in the first half of a game. They came from behind against the Republic of Ireland in the last-16 match after Didier Deschamps pushed Antoine Griezmann closer to Olivier Giroud and will look to get Griezmann on the ball more against Iceland. Only Paul Pogba (91) had more touches than the Atlético Madrid forward in the Ireland match, with 54 of his 88 touches coming when he was given the licence to roam infield after the interval.

If France can succeed where England so desperately failed in getting players in advanced central positions to trouble Iceland’s midfield pairing of Gylfi Sigurdsson and Aron Gunnarsson, they should progress. The underdogs, however, will be confident of frustrating the hosts early on and unsettling the crowd – no side have scored more first-half goals at the tournament (four) – and this looks likely to be another nervy affair for the favourites.

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