Portugal v France: Euro 2016 has helped French after attacks - Hugo Lloris
By Phil McNulty
Chief football writer in Paris
| Portugal v France |
|---|
| Date: Sunday, 10 July Venue: Stade de France, Paris Kick-off: 20:00 BST |
| Coverage: Live on BBC One, BBC Radio 5 live and text commentary online & on BBC Sport app |
Hosts France face Portugal in the Euro 2016 final in Paris on Sunday - with goalkeeper and captain Hugo Lloris saying the tournament has helped his country "escape" from November's attacks in the city.
The final will be played at Stade de France, where the home nation were playing Germany in a friendly eight months ago when the first explosions were heard at the start of a night that ended with 130 dead and hundreds more injured.
France reached the final with a 2-0 victory over World Cup holders Germany in Marseille on Thursday and are favourites to beat Portugal, who ended the hopes of Wales by beating Chris Coleman's side in Lyon 24 hours earlier.
If France win, it will be their first major tournament triumph since Euro 2000. Portugal have never lifted the trophy, losing to Greece in the Euro 2004 final on home soil in Lisbon.
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French sports daily L'Equipe captured the mood of the nation the morning after the win against Germany with the headline "L'Extase" (The Ecstasy) after using "L'Horreur" (The Horror) on 14 November after the Paris attacks.
Didier Deschamps' side will hope to finish the job on Sunday but face the major threat of Portugal's Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored one goal and made another as Wales' adventure in France came to its conclusion.
Tottenham goalkeeper Lloris explained the significance of the final when he said: "The French people really needed to escape in this competition and sport has this strength to bring people together.
"You can see that because we are currently experiencing it. We still have one step to take, though, if we are to finish this tournament in a good way."
Lloris, 29, added: "We have had some tough times, with tragic events and events off the field, but we are proud to be on the pitch and really feel the French population behind us."
Griezmann the great French hope
Antoine Griezmann's two goals against Germany put him well clear as Euro 2016's top scorer with six and the firm favourite to win the tournament's Golden Boot.
He has been the crucial influence for France, also scoring the two second-half goals that took them out of trouble after they trailed 1-0 to the Republic of Ireland at half-time in their last-16 tie.
The 25-year-old will once again carry the hopes of a nation on Sunday, but coach Deschamps is confident the Atletico Madrid forward can shoulder that burden of responsibility.
"Griezmann is a good team player, he is not just an individual player," said the 47-year-old manager. "He had a very busy season which ended with the Champions League final for his club against Real Madrid.
"He had to digest that and I tried to give him a bit of a break in our first three games - but he is a very talented, clinical player and that is important for the France team."
Pepe back as Portugal bid to break the curse
Portugal will be hoping to end their reputation as international football's nearly men, having come close to the major prizes but never claiming any.
As well as reaching that Euro 2004 final, they also lost out in the World Cup semi-final in 2006, the quarter-finals at Euro 2008 and the semi-finals at Euro 2012. They also lost to eventual winners England in the 1966 World Cup semi-final.
Their bid to buck the trend has been boosted by the return of Real Madrid defender Pepe, who has overcome a thigh complaint that ruled him out of the semi-final victory against Wales.
"I feel great. I am fully fit and can be chosen to play," he said. "We want to write our names down in history and we believe that we can play well.
"Tomorrow we will have 11 million people, 11 players - plus three who will come on later on - and everyone will want to write their name in the history books and the history of Portuguese football."
The match also sees Pepe reunited with English referee Mark Clattenburg, who also took charge of the Champions League final between Real and Atletico Madrid in May.
On that occasion, Clattenburg awarded a penalty against Pepe and was also caught on camera looking unimpressed by the defender's theatrics.
"Tomorrow there will be three teams on the pitch - three teams who are privileged to be there," Pepe said. "Two will be playing for a prize and the third team, the referees, will try to do their best.
"I think this referee is maybe among the two or three best referees in the world and it was no accident that he was present at the final of the Champions League.
"The game tomorrow is recognition of his work and his quality as a professional referee. And I think - I hope - the linesmen, referees and everyone has an easy night and that they can work peacefully."
| Portugal v France: the stats |
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| France have won their past 10 games against Portugal |
| France are one of three teams to lift the trophy as hosts... |
| ...while Portugal are the only team to lose the final on their home turf (2004 against Greece) |
| Portugal's 2-0 semi-final victory over Wales was their first win inside 90 minutes at these finals |
Fan zones and cameras - Euro 2016 stats so far
On the pitch, Uefa's analysis of the tournament can tell us that 107 goals have been scored in 50 matches so far, that there have been 195 yellow cards shown and that 5.8% of the offside decisions made - roughly one in 20 - have been wrong.
But there are equally fascinating facts and figures to be found in the tournament off the field too, and BBC Sport has been through the numbers to pull out some of the best.
A total of 2.4 million fans got tickets for the tournament's 51 matches - an average of about 7,000 spectators per game. There were no fewer than 11.2 million requests for tickets, with the top three countries for applications as follows:
- France: 40.61%
- Germany: 13.85%
- England: 13.85%
It was the 2006 World Cup in Germany that really popularised the idea of the fan park - where supporters without tickets for a particular game can gather to watch on television.
There have been 10 official fan zones in France for Euro 2016, and the numbers show the extent to which they have allowed supporters to enjoy the atmosphere of the tournament:
- A total of 3.6 million supporters have watched games in official fan zones at Euro 2016;
- The biggest zone was in Paris, with a capacity of 85,000 - slightly larger than that of Stade de France.
A total of 2,000 people have been involved in producing more than 3,500 hours of television content for audiences around the world during the tournament - and the culmination of all that work will be Sunday's final in Paris.
The match between France and Portugal will be filmed by no fewer than 51 cameras, including:
- Two cameras on board helicopters above the stadium;
- Two cameras on motorbikes;
- A 'spidercam' suspended on wires above the pitch;
- Cameras on rails behind both goals;
- Eight 'super slow motion' cameras to provide extra detail when showing replays of key incidents.
The final on social media
So who is going to win on Sunday? The stars have been out on social media sharing their thoughts and predictions.
Create leagues and play against your friends in BBC Sport's new Euro 2016 Predictor game
