The first semi-final of Euro 2016 is between two teams that nobody expected to be at this stage of the tournament. This match sees two Galacticos and world record signings Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale go head-to-head with both of them keen to make history for their country.
I have been a critique of Portugal throughout the tournament but justify my criticism by the fact that they are still yet to win a game in 90 minutes at Euro 2016. They have been incredibly lucky to get this far after scraping through the group via being a best third place team whilst they somehow squeezed passed highly-fancied Croatia before getting through the quarter finals on the lottery of penalties.
On the other hand, nobody has criticised Wales and their run in the tournament so far has been sensational. It is a cliché to say it is a team effort but in this case you can be excused for uttering that overused phrase. Bale is obviously the star of the show but players like Hal Robson-Kanu (currently unemployed) and Chris Gunter have stepped up to the plate and delivered.
Wales will be without key players in defender Ben Davies and Aaron Ramsey who have been two of the tournament’s standout players. However, inevitable defensive replacement James Collins is incredibly experienced whilst Johnny Williams, who is likely to come in for Ramsey has impressed when he has played.
Portugal have been made the favourites for this game and it is no surprise given the superior quality they have on paper. However, I am still yet to be convinced by Fernando Santos’s men and feel that if Cristiano Ronaldo and Renato Sanches can be subdued then they lack any bite whilst suspended defensive midfielder William Carvalho is a big loss for them. Chris Coleman’s Welsh side will be high on confidence and we saw the character of their team to turn around a 1-0 deficit against Belgium; ranked second in the world by FIFA.
I cannot see past the Welsh and they represent good value at 3/1.
See our previous Euro 2016 winners here.