Cristiano Ronaldo set about on a one-man mission to put Slovenia to the sword in the round of 16 and we could see something similar against France on Friday night.

With the exception of the assist Ronaldo provided for Bruno Fernandes against Turkey on matchday two, the Portuguese skipper has adopted a shoot-on-sight policy at Euro 2024 and is visibly becoming  increasingly desperate to snap his current goal drought.

The legendary forward has averaged four attempts on goal per-game across his opening four appearances of the competition, with his shot on target average reading 2.25 per 90 minutes.

With France’s approach typically a pragmatic one under Didier Deschamps, Ronaldo is the obvious candidate to test French goalkeeper Mike Maignan at least once on Friday night. Les Bleus have given up an average of three shots on target per-game at Euro 2024 so far, which only adds to the appeal of backing Ronaldo to register just one on-target effort.

Despite appearing just three times at Euro 2024, only the aforementioned Cristiano Ronaldo has attempted more shots on goal than Kylian Mbappe ahead of the quarter-final stage.

The French captain has just one goal to show for his efforts so far, despite hitting the target with a further five attempts. Like Ronaldo, Mbappe has a tendency to try and grab the spotlight and take centre stage, and the duo will no doubt be looking to outshine one another on Friday night.

Mbappe was averaging two shots on target per game during Euro 2024 qualifying, while he ended the most recent Ligue 1 season with a shot on target average of 2.46 per-game. With that in mind, backing Mbappe to work Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa at least once appears a no-brainer option.

Pepe continues to be an effective player for Portugal even at his advanced age but a fixture with France will undoubtedly represent his toughest test at Euro 2024 to date.

The 41-year-old centre-half has long been a master of the game’s dark arts and he will look to throw his weight around with a view to disrupting France’s frontline.

While Pepe has committed just one foul in three outings at Euro 2024 so far, he won’t be mixing it with the same calibre of opposition this time around. Pepe’ solitary foul in the competition to date came against Slovenia on Monday and he later left the field of play looking leggy, something star-studded France could look to capitalise on.

It’s also worth noting that the Portuguese warrior committed three fouls in his one and only appearance during Euro 2024 qualifying, not to mention he gave away a free kick in each of Porto’s final three Champions League matches last season.

Only Kylian Mbappe (6) has hit the target more times for France than Antoine Griezmann (4) at Euro 2024 so far. Griezmann has already played in three different positions at this tournament, but he is expected to take up the number 10 role against Portugal.

The 33-year-old registered an on-target effort in France’s 1-0 win over Belgium and he racked up three attempts that worked the goalkeeper on matchday two against the Netherlands.

While Griezmann was averaging just 0.62 shots on target per 90 minutes during Euro 2024 qualifying, the same statistic during the most recent La Liga season read 1.15, a campaign in which the Frenchman fired in 16 goals across his 33 Spanish top-flight appearances.

Given his knack for getting forward and hitting the target, we’re getting a good price here on Griezmann to test Portuguese stopper Diogo Costa.

Jules Kounde is likely to be tasked with keeping a lid on Portugal’s Rafael Leao on Friday night. The French right-back successfully stifled Jermey Doku in Les Bleus’ 1-0 win over Belgium and he will be looking to replicate that performance when faced with an equally-tricky customer in the shape of Leao.

While Kounde was named Player of the Match last time out, he did give away two free-kicks, making him an appealing prospect to fall foul of the referee just once in this quarter-final clash.

Kounde committed at least one foul in three of his final five La Liga outings of the season, while he totted up a combined total of 6 misdemeanours across his eight Champions League appearances for Barcelona last term.

The aforementioned Leao has been fouled four times across his three appearances at Euro 2024 so far, not to mention he regularly finds himself on the receiving end of some rough treatment for AC Milan, as evidenced by the fact he was earning the Rossoneri an average of 1.86 fouls per game during the 2023/24 Serie A season.

Joao Cancelo will be assigned arguably the toughest job on the pitch on Friday night as he tries to keep France talisman Kylian Mbappe quiet.

The Selecao right-back has never been one to shy away from a tackle, having ended the season averaging 1.37 fouls per-game with Barcelona in La Liga, picking up seven yellow cards in the process. It was a similar story on the Champions League stage for Cancelo last term, where he was giving away 1.33 fouls per 90 minutes.

Given that Mbappe is renowned for destroying defenders with his electric pace, Cancelo may have no choice but to tackle himself into trouble. French megastar Mbappe was picking up PSG an average of 1.58 free kicks per game during the Ligue 1 season that has just concluded, while he has drawn an average of 1.67 fouls for France across his three appearances at Euro 2024 so far.

Thus, Cancelo looks a strong contender to get on the wrong side of referee Michael Oliver at least twice on Friday night.