At 3 o'clock in the morning on July 2, Beijing time, the 1/8 finals of the European Cup will usher in the Portuguese team led by Ronaldo against the little-known weak Slovenian team.
Judging from the analysis of public opinion before the game, more voices are choosing to support the favorite Portugal team. Although there is still a slight gap between the Portuguese team and the first tier of Germany, Spain, France and other teams in the overall strength, they have the 38-year-old superstar Cristiano Ronaldo to press the lineup.
No one can ignore Cristiano Ronaldo's influence on a team. Although President Luo has long passed his prime, and he has also stayed away from the five major leagues in the center of world football, Ronaldo, who went to Saudi Arabia to pan for gold, did not enjoy his old age, but still maintained the habit of self-discipline.
Although Martinez started Cristiano Ronaldo in all three group games, the Portuguese superstar provided only one assist in three games and failed to score. For the game against Slovenia, Cristiano Ronaldo will continue to start. Perhaps after three group stage adaptation periods, Ronaldo's form has begun to fully recover, and he is even expected to usher in an explosion in the knockout round.
However, although Slovenia is considered at most to a weak force with limited strength. But in fact, the team ranked 57th in the world by FIFA is a team with some potential for upsets. In other words, the Slovenian team participating in this European Championship is seriously underestimated. Not to mention the ancestors of the family, it was Yugoslavia, which was once famous. As a branch of the former Yugoslavia, Slovenia formed an independent team, although its historical record is mediocre. The last time they played in the main draw of the European Championship was back in 2000, when they failed to qualify for the group stage.
However, Slovenian football still inherits the excellent genes of former Yugoslav football, and the players have excellent physical and technical skills. Against world No. 6 Portugal, they are not without the possibility of an upset. The Slovenian team still has a certain amount of quality in attack. The two-striker combination of 21-year-old superstar Sesko and Sporal on the front line is very distinctive. With a height of 1.95 meters, Sesco has a strong impact and upside potential. With his outstanding performance in Leipzig last season, Sesko has grown into a hot supernova in European football, attracting the attention of many European giants.
Slovenia drew with England, Denmark and Serbia in the group stage and entered the knockout round as the third place in the group. The last time the two sides met was in a friendly in March this year, when Slovenia beat Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal 2-0 at home.
Score recommendation: Portugal lost 0-1 or drew 1-1 with Slovenia (90 minutes of normal time).