France will play Portugal in the final of Euro 2016 after beating Germany 2-0 in Marseille thanks to two goals from the tournament’s top scorer Antoine Griezmann.
Antoine Griezmann scored twice Thursday as France beat world champions Germany 2-0 to seal a place in the Euro 2016 final against Portugal.
France defeated Germany 2-0 to advance to the final as host. They came away with a dominant second half to seal the victory. Portugal defeated a red-hot Wales team 2-0 to advance.
‘We suffered but we knocked them out,’ said French coach Didier Deschamps after the game in which Germany dominated possession.
Portugal is led by Ronaldo while France has a team of players that have stepped up throughout the tournament. No player has come up bigger than Antoine Griezmann who leads the tournament in goals with six.
France’s first win over Germany in their fifth meeting at major finals came out of a controversial penalty just before half-time.
Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli’s took an eagle-eyed decision. The penalty swung the game.
The recent results between the two European giants doesn’t bode well for the Portuguese, with their last victory over the French coming in March, 1975.
THE LAST 10 MATCHES BETWEEN PORTUGAL AND FRANCE
Mar 8 1978 France v Portugal L 2-0 Friendly
Feb 16 1983 Portugal v France L 0-3 Friendly
Jun 23 1984 France v Portugal L 3-2 Euros
Jan 24 1996 France v Portugal L 3-2 Friendly
Jan 22 1997 Portugal v France L 0-2 Friendly
Jun 28 2000 France v Portugal L 2-1 Euros
Apr 25 2001 France v Portugal L 4-0 Friendly
Jul 5 2006 France v Portugal L 1-0 World Cup
Oct 11 2014 France v Portugal L 2-1 Friendly
Sep 4 2015 Portugal v France L 0-1 Friendly
Mark Clattenburg has been chosen to referee Sunday’s Euro 2016 final between Portugal and France, completing a unique treble of showpiece fixtures in one season.
The 41-year-old also refereed May’s Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid in Milan and Manchester United’s FA Cup win over Crystal Palace at Wembley a week earlier.
