Portugal vs France

On the opening matchday of Group C at the Under-21 European Championships, Portugal and France, two top contenders, will clash in Trencin this Wednesday.

Both teams are among the favorites to claim the title in Slovakia this summer, but they must first progress through a group that includes Georgia and Poland.

Portugal, led by veteran manager Rui Jorge, who has been in charge for 15 years, boasts a track record of nurturing future stars. Despite their talent, the Esperancas have yet to win the tournament, with their best results being runner-up finishes in 1994, 2015, and 2021.

In the 2023 tournament, Portugal exited in the quarter-finals after a lackluster group stage, including a loss to hosts Georgia. More recently, they suffered defeats in friendlies against England and Romania in March. However, Portugal dominated their qualifying campaign, winning nine of ten matches to secure their spot in the finals.

France, on the other hand, possesses one of Europe’s strongest youth systems, even with several key players, now senior internationals, absent from the squad. Under new manager Gerard Baticle, who took over from Thierry Henry during qualifying, France struggled, finishing second behind Slovenia and narrowly qualifying as one of the best runners-up.

Historically, France has underperformed in this competition, failing to qualify from 2007 to 2017. Although they’ve reached the last three tournaments, their best recent showing was a semi-final exit to Ukraine in 2023. Their last title came in 1988, led by stars like Laurent Blanc and Eric Cantona.

While France won all three of their pre-tournament friendlies against England, Slovakia, and Uzbekistan, scoring 11 goals, many of their standout performers, such as Bradley Barcola and Rayan Cherki, are now with the senior team.

This match promises a challenging start for both sides as they aim to assert their dominance in Group C.