Belgium vs. Portugal 6/27/21 Euro Cup 2021 Soccer Pick, Odds, and Prediction

Belgium and Portugal are clashing at Estadio de la Cartuja in the Round of 16 in the Euro Cup 2021. Belgium has advanced to the next stage with 3 wins, and they are just warming up. Portugal has once again skated through the group stage thanks to a draw in their last game, but they are in the Round of 16 nonetheless.

Belgium is now undefeated in their last 12 games, and they have scored 7 goals in the group stage while conceding only 1 goal. The leading goalscorer for Belgium is Lukaku with 3 goals, while De Bruyne added 2 assists. Castagne and Thorgan Hazard are both injured, and while Castagne will not be playing again in this tournament, Hazard is still questionable. In their last game against Finland, Belgium has had 60% of ball possession, 7 shots on goal, 5 corner kicks, 2 big chances created, and a high 90% of the correct passes. Belgium was a constant threat in this match, and they have created a ton of chances, but they couldn’t score a goal. In the 74^th minute, Belgium is finally breaking the lock, and in the 81^st minute, Belgium has confirmed a win with another goal. The final result of this game was 0-2 in favor of Belgium. As far as I’m concerned, Belgium is still the favorite to win this tournament, but they are on the harder side of the knockout stage, and they will need to be at the top of their game.

After beating Hungary in round 1, Portugal was beaten by Germany in round 2, which means the game in round 3 was crucial for them, and it was against France. Portugal has had 48% of ball possession in that match, 5 shots on goal, 0 corner kicks, 3 big chances created, and a solid 91% of the correct passes. This was a game where we saw 3 penalties, 2 of which were given to Portugal. Ronaldo has scored both, and this game has ended in a 2-2 draw. Except for these penalty kicks, Portugal hasn’t shown much, and they were lucky France didn’t need anything from this game, otherwise, I’m not sure Portugal would get a positive result. With 5 goals so far in this tournament, Ronaldo is the leading goalscorer for Portugal, but I would like to note that 3 of those 5 goals were penalty kicks. Rafa Silva has 2 assists. Medes is the only injured player for Portugal at this time. As I’ve mentioned, Portugal skated through once again, but they are now facing the number one ranked team in the world, and they will need a lot more than penalty kicks to win.

Belgium is in much better form, and as we could have seen from Portugal’s games in the group stage, their defense is shaky and insecure. I think Belgium will win this one, but I also see goals here, at least 3.