Real Madrid talisman Cristiano Ronaldo has been handed much-needed boost ahead of Portugal’s quarter-final against Poland following Lionel Messi’s retirement from international football.
The first quarterfinal game of the 2016 edition of European championship between Portugal and Poland will be one to enjoy for the fans, when the two teams will meet at Stade Velodrome in Marseille on Thursday, June 30.
Poland qualified for this stage via a penalty shootout against Switzerland. It was the first penalty shootout of this season, and Poland came out victorious.
Lewandowski still needs to prove his worth as he has failed to impress in the first four games of this tournament, however, he is still their only world-class player and will be instrumental for their hopes of getting into final four.
The Polish keeper Lukasz Fabianski is set to continue in a form with Wojciech Szczesny still battling with a thigh injury.
Robert Lewndowski, who still needs to prove his participation as the Bayern Munich striker has failed to make an impact in the first four games of this tournament. He will need to be more clinical upfront.
Poland expected XI: Fabianski, Piszczek, Glik, Pazdan, Jedrzejczyk, Blaszczykowski, Krychowiak, Maczynski, Grosicki, Milik, Lewandowski.
Meanwhile, Portugal will have to recover from an extra-time victory over Croatia. Having failed to secure a win the 90-minutes in their last four outings. The matchwinner Ricardo Quaresma will be confident to secure a starting berth after impressing off the bench in the last round.
The team have all their players without injuries or suspension, however, it remains to be seen whether the coach Fernando Santos may go for the same line-up of defence.
Portugal expected XI: Rui Patricio, Soares, Pepe, Fonte, Guerreiro, Joao Mario,, Adrien Silva, Carvalho, Renato Sanches, Nani, Ronaldo.