Thursday 21st June 19:45 – Czech Republic versus Portugal – Euro 2012 Quarter Final
Watch it on BBC One in the UK with coverage starting at 7.30 PM. Highlights on ITV1 from 10.30 PM. The match will be played at Stadion Narodowy in Warsaw.
Match Odds: Czech Republic to win 9/2. Draw after 90 Mins 5/2 and Portugal to win 8/11. All odds brought to you from Bet 365 and accurate as of Weds 20th June 2012.
This match preview is a guest post brought to you by the brilliant Matthew Broadley, you can check out his blog over at http://broadley-speaking.
The Czech Republic should count themselves quite lucky to be going through to the quarter final stage, and even more so to be topping the group and avoiding Germany. They were torn apart by Russia in their opening game, and although they managed to beat Greece and Poland, they never looked entirely convincing doing so. Their big name players, such as Cech and Rosicky, the latter of whom is now a doubt for the quarters, have not really turned up so far, something which they will need to remedy fast if they are to go any further in the tournament. It has been Petr Jiracek who has been the standout man for them so far, with coach Bilek quoted as saying he was the ‘heart of the team’, and with two goals and some impressive performances it is easy to see why.
After a slow start losing their first game to Germany, Portugal have really picked up and look to be in good form going into the quarter finals. A spirited 3-2 victory against a decent Denmark team will obviously have done wonders for their confidence. Ronaldo’s poor performance, by his standards, in that game seems to have really spurred him on and he turned it on against Holland with a man of the match performance. Portugal are solid at the back with Pepe and Bruno Alves, and Joao Moutinho in the midfield is having a very good tournament. Ronaldo will obviously be the key man; if he is on form then Portugal should have enough to get past what is a pretty average Czech team. A great quote from Chris Mann on twitter the other day perfectly sums them up for me; “This Portugal team is very entertaining. It’s a perfect mixture of showy egomaniacs and savage nutters.”
Predicted result: Portugal 2-0 Czech Republic.
Leave us a comment below and let us know your score prediction for what promises to be a thrilling Quarter Final in Warsaw.
