Portugal vs Slovenia

Frankfurt’s Deutsche Bank Park is the venue as Portugal and Slovenia go head-to-head in an exciting Euro 2024 last-16 tie.

Portugal preserved their record of reaching the knockout stages of a European Championship (9/9) thanks to back-to-back wins at the start of their Group F campaign. A last-minute win against the Czech Republic followed by a 3-0 romping of Turkey allowed coach Roberto Martinez to rest his first-team stars in a 2-0 defeat to Georgia on day three. Fresh legs are supposed to give Portugal the upper hand as they bid to avenge a shock 2-0 loss to Slovenia in a warm-up fixture in March and better last tournament’s run when they flamed out of the Round of 16. The Euro 2016 winners have been fun to watch lately, with their previous 13 games featuring 2+ goals, highlighting the potential for an action-packed last-16 tie.

On the other hand, Slovenia’s first Euros appearance since 2000 should’ve ended in the groups, according to the bookies. Yet, three draws against Denmark, England, and Serbia fired them into the knockouts of a major tournament (World Cup/Euro) for the first time in the nation’s history. A spirited performance in a 0-0 stalemate against pre-tournament favorites England last time out maintained Slovenia’s unbeaten streak in 2024 to eight matches (W3, D5), setting them up nicely for this ‘David vs Goliath’ clash. Slovenia’s tendency to share the spoils at the Euros has been off the charts, with 83% of their fixtures in the competition ending all square. On top of that, their last four outings have finished level, suggesting extra-time/penalties could be in store in Frankfurt.