Portugal – Slovenia

The Balkan team should put up a fight in the playoffs

Portugal left a double impression from their game at the group stage of the European Championship. On the one hand, the "European Brazilians" were among the first to win their group after the second round. On the other hand, the finishing round left a lot of questions. It was impossible to play like that against Georgia, even if it was not Portugal's experimental squad, but just a set of good Portuguese players who met for the first time on the football field. Slovenia, on the contrary, proved to be a rather dangerous and disciplined team, capable of causing trouble if you let your guard down even a little. The Balkan team made it to the playoffs without losing a single game, so before the playoffs start, they feel they know the recipe for success. Bookmakers have expectedly identified Portugal as favourites, offering odds of 1.38 on their victory. Roberto Martinez's side started their journey to the continental championship with a rather tough victory over the Czech Republic. In that match, Ronaldo and company had to come back in the middle of the second half, and snatch victory in extra time. The second match was very easy for the Portuguese, which put one of the EURO favourites to sleep. The Turks scored in their own goal and made other defensive errors, which led to their 0:3 defeat. Already in the role of early group winner, Portugal took the field against Georgia and faced the utmost dedication and commitment of their opponents. This led to a 0-2 defeat, which was like a "cold shower" for Portugal's players, who were somewhat relaxed after an impressive winning streak. Slovenians started the EURO with a match against Denmark. After conceding a goal first, the Balkan players slowly took control of the game in their own hands and created a series of chances, one of which reached its logical conclusion - 1:1. The Slovenes finished with a similar scoreline against Serbia, conceding the return goal on 90+5 minutes. Against England, the Balkan team got a draw rather quietly. Obviously Portugal will have the ball most of the time, but the Slovenes are very good in defence. In March, the rivals played a friendly match, which the Slovenes won 2-0. Let's bet on a decent result for Slovenia.