One of the biggest games of the Euro 2020 group stage is upon us. France (1 win, 0 losses, 1 draw) and Portugal (1-1-0) meet for a 3 p.m. ET kickoff Wednesday at Puskás Arena in Budapest, Hungary. Below, we preview the Portugal vs. France odds and lines and make our best Euro 2020 bets, picks and predictions.
Neither team is truly at home like both Germany and Hungary have been throughout the tournament. That said, neither Portugal nor France have been overly impressive.
France is arguably the best and most well-rounded team in Euro 2020. It brought back numerous starters from its World Cup-winning roster, with MFs Paul Pogba and Kante in the middle, and F Kylian Mbappé and F Antoine Griezmann up front. France has the most star-powered roster but hasn’t transitioned that into a pure on-field product through two matches.
France won by 1 over Germany due to an own goal by a German defender and then tied Hungary, who isn’t a top-30 FIFA team. That’s not the France team that’s among the top-three in the world, but it’ll look to change that against Portugal and F Cristiano Ronaldo.
Portugal has played both Germany and Hungary as well. The two games combined for 9 total goals.
Germany defeated Portugal 4-2 after the Portuguese beat Hungary 3-0. However, one goal was a penalty kick and all three were scored past the 80th minute.
Portugal vs. France: Odds, picks and predictions
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 6:25 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Portugal +275 (bet $100 to win $275) | France +120 (bet $100 to win $120) | Draw +210 (bet $100 to win $210)
- Over/Under: 2.5 (O: +115 | U: -155)
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Prediction
France 2, Portugal 1
Money line (ML)
BET on FRANCE (+120) because its talent will eventually shine.
France hasn’t looked dominant this tournament, but the talent is there. Mbappe and Griezmann will figure it out, and there’s no betting against Kante and Pogba, two of the best midfielders in the world. France tripled Hungary in shot attempts.
France should’ve beat Germany by more than a single goal but it never looked uncomfortable. After watching them for both games, I’d roll with France over Portugal.
Portugal has played well, but its backline with the aging Pepe was absolutely exposed against Germany. With 2 own goals, Portugal caved under the German pressure. Ronaldo put them up 1-0 and Germany scored 4 straight.
Portugal’s backline hasn’t shown enough to hope it can slow down a forceful French attack.
Over/Under (O/U)
PASS on the Under 2.5 (-155) because neither team has consistently shown attacking prowess. Portugal scored 3 goals against Hungary but didn’t break through until late in the match.
Against Germany, Portugal got one late to make it 4-2 but really only scored 1 meaningful goal. France has scored 1 true goal with the other being an own goal. The sporadic nature of both teams means passing on Wednesday’s total.
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