After Wales defeated Belgium 3-1 in their Euro 2016 quarterfinal match, Real Madrid stars Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo are set to meet in the semifinals.
The first Euro 2016 semifinal match is set to divide the Real Madrid fan base like never before.
The Spanish capital club’s two biggest stars, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, are set to clash when Portugal and Wales compete on July 6 for the chance to reach the Euro finals. Though both countries have made it to the semis, they have taken very different paths.
For Portugal, deep runs into European Championships have been the usual since Ronaldo made his debut in Euro 2004. They were Runners-up that year, quarter finalists in 2008, and semifinalists in 2012. Euro 2016, however, has been far from extraordinary for the Portuguese.
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They came into the tournament touted as the obvious group F winner, but have yet to win a game in the normal 90 minutes. They drew all three of their group stage games, and only advanced due to the expanded format which called for the top 4 3rd place teams to advance to the round of 16. While their group stage performance left something to be desired, they were lucky to find themselves in the weaker of the two brackets. While the other bracket had the likes of Spain, Italy, France, and Germany, the only traditional power in Portugal’s bracket was Belgium.
Their round of 16 game vs. Croatia was perhaps the most boring game of the entire tournament thus far, without a single shot on goal in regulation. It wasn’t until A.E.T. that Portugal was able to get on the board with a Ricardo Quaresma header in the 117th minute. Their quarterfinal game looked more promising in the first 30 minutes, with Poland gaining a quick 1-0 lead in the second minute. After Portugal equalized the game in the 33rd, it dragged on until Portugal were able to beat Poland 5-3 on penalties.
While Portugal had arguably the least watchable trip to the semis, Wales’ road there was incredibly entertaining. Wales have no Euro history to live up to, since this was the first time they had ever qualified for the Championship, and before the tournament they were a team people thought might just be happy to be in France.
That certainly wasn’t their mentality, though, as they came storming out with 2 wins in group play. Those 6 points led them to win group B over England, even though they lost to them 2-1 on match day 2. With the win, they also saw themselves placed in the easier over two brackets, facing off against UK counterparts Northern Ireland in the round of 16.
That game was decided by an own goal in the 75th minute, but to be fair to the NI defender, if he hadn’t put the ball in the back of the net the Welsh player sliding behind him would have. This victory sent them through to the quarterfinal to play Belgium, who many people had winning this tournament.
Though Belgium dominated play in the first 25 minutes, Wales showed the world that a unified 11 who all buy into the team’s philosophy can beat a team of superior talent. Ashley Williams equalized in the first half, with Robson-Kasnu and Vokes sealing the deal for Wales with a pair of second half goals allowing them to win 3-1.
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With both teams coming into the semis on very different waves, it will be interesting to see who will emerge victorious. Will Portugal be able to find the touch in the final third they have been lacking all tournament, or will Wales (who will be missing both Ben Davies and Aaron Ramsey due to yellow card accumulation) be able to play themselves into the final at their very first Euros?