In this article…
Introduction
Portugal are participating in their eighth successive European Championship and there is plenty of optimism that they can replicate their all-conquering effort of 2016.
Now, under the guidance of former Belgium boss Roberto Martinez, the Iberians are a different beast from the team who suffered a shock 1-0 quarter-final defeat to Morocco at the 2022 World Cup.
Martinez has swiftly implemented a more possession-based style of play that produced a perfect 10 wins from 10 during qualifying.
Reaching this year’s showpiece in such flawless fashion has raised hopes and expectations ahead of Portugal’s latest pursuit of glory.
A favourable draw has added further fuel to the fire, with Roberto Martinez’s men expected to be a cut above their Group F foes.
This is without doubt a much stronger Portugal side than the one who reigned supreme in 2016 and they should be a force to be reckoned with in Germany.
Here on Andy’s Bet Club, we will be running daily articles including bet builders, shot on target tips, and Euro 2024 accumulator tips, all available for free on our football predictions page. Don’t miss out on our Euro 2024 underdog and dark horse predictions, as well as our complete Euro 2024 set piece taker guide, which covers all 24 nations.
In addition, be sure to visit our Euro 2024 betting tips & bet builder predictions hub where you will find our Euro 2024 outright winner odds and stats, as we cover each and every group in the tournament – you can also find the rest of our Group F predictions here.
We have also collated the very best bookmaker offers and provided them to you for free over on our Odds Boost page to help your Euro 2024 punting.
đź”® Euro 2024 predictions
Tournament prediction: Semi-Finals
You can back Portugal to reach the Semi-Finals @ 2.25 on Paddy Power.
If anyone can upstage the teams at the top of the outright market, it is Portugal, who appeal as an each-way selection at 9.0 on bet365.
Roberto Martinez has inherited a squad that has a heavy Premier League presence, not to mention they all appear to be thriving under a more expansive brand of football.
It’s difficult to detect any real weaknesses in the Selecao’s squad and they should arrive in Germany with spirits high following an utterly faultless qualifying campaign.
Portugal also appear to have been handed a plum group-stage draw, where the three sides they will come up against (Czech Republic, Turkey and Georgia) are currently ranked 36th, 40th and 75th in the FIFA World Rankings.
If Portugal advance as Group F winners as anticipated, it would pit them against one of the sides who finish third in either Group A, B or C. After that, they would then go up against one of the two runners-up from Group D or E at the quarter-final stage. With that in mind, backing Roberto Martinez’s men to at least reach the semi-final stage stands out.
Portugal Euro 2024 Qualifying Data
đź“– How they qualified
Portugal barely put a foot wrong when qualifying for Euro 2024, posting a perfect 10 wins from 10 – a feat no other nation achieved during the preliminaries.
Sure, Portugal’s qualifying section included the likes of Liechtenstein and Luxembourg, but the swagger and solidarity the Selecao played with en route to Euro 2024 was mightily impressive.
New boss Roberto Martinez, who tended to opt for a 3-4-3 formation during qualifying, has transformed Portugal into a front-foot team with a big focus on ball retention, as evidenced by the fact they averaged 67.8% possession in their qualifying pool.
The 2016 winners also boasted the record of being the highest-scoring side during qualifying, netting 36 goals and averaging 16.71 shots per game across their 10 Group J triumphs.
It would be fair to say that Portugal showed a real ruthless streak in front of goal along the way, having delivered a near nine-goal outperformance of their xG tally of 27.3
Upon closer inspection, Portugal also appear to have developed a handy habit of scoring in the lead-up to both half-time or full-time, with 16 of their 26 strikes during qualifying arriving in the final 15 minutes of either half.
What makes Portugal’s path to Euro 2024 all the more impressive is that they managed to do so by conceding just two goals. The Selecao were able to record a strong xG against tally of just 3.9 during qualifying, with the two goals they concede coming from long-range efforts, suggesting they are very adept at restricting their opponents.
đź‘• Players to watch
All eyes will be on Cristiano Ronaldo this summer, in what will surely mark the legendary forward’s final appearance at a European Championship. Ronaldo, now 39, remains Portugal’s go-to-striker after he finished as his country’s top scorer in Euro 2024 qualifying, netting 10 times across his eight appearances.
The fact Ronaldo delivered 10 strikes while posting an xG average of 10.24 demonstrates that the Portuguese superstar remains as prolific as ever. Unsurprisingly, CR7 attempted more shots than any other player during qualifying, having attempted 46 efforts on goal, 20 of which hit the target. Ronaldo is 13.0 on bet365 to bag this year’s Golden Boot award.
Bruno Fernandes has come under scrutiny for his below-par performances in the Premier League this season but he has proven to be a crucial cog in Roberto Martinez’s winning machine. No player provided more assists than the 29-year-old playmaker during the preliminaries and he was also averaging 3.03 key passes per 90.
João Palhinha will be patrolling the middle of the park for Portugal this summer and he’s worth keeping in mind for any player props selections. The all-action midfielder’s sliding tackles (1.46) and fouls committed (2.93) averages per game were the highest of any other player in Portugal’s qualification pool.
* All odds displayed correctly at the time of publishing *
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