Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo (L) competes for the ball against Croatia's Darijo Srna. (Photo : Getty Images)
An expected high-quality match between Poland and Portugal is set on Thursday, June 30 as the two clubs meet to open the 2016 UEFA European Championship quarterfinals at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille.
Poland gave up a goal for the first time in the tournament but still escaped with a penalty shootout win over Switzerland, 1-1 (5-4), at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Étienne last Saturday, as per ESPN.
Fiorentina winger Jakub Blaszczykowski scored the opening goal of the contest in the 39th minute for the Polish side after he caught a squeezing pass from midfielder Kamil Grosicki.
Head coach Adam Nawalka's boys retained the one-point lead at the half and with only minutes remaining in regulation time, but the Swiss managed to find an equalizer at the 82nd, courtesy of an "acrobatic overhead volley" from Stoke City winger Xherdan Shaqiri.
The game was still undecided in extra time so a penalty shootout is needed. A miss by Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka for Switzerland's side decided the game in favor of the White and Reds.
Meanwhile, Portugal featured in another close game as they nipped Croatia, 1-0, at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis in Lens also last Saturday via an extra-time goal from Besiktas striker Ricardo Quaresma, SkySports reported.
The Portuguese squad continued to play below par as they did in the group stage but were able to grind out a win nevertheless.
Poland will be a tougher opponent for Portugal as the White Eagles have one of the stingiest defenses in the tournament so far and Cristiano Ronaldo has not been clicking as of late.
To be fair to the squad, head coach Fernando Santos' team did not solely rely on Ronaldo during their triumph over Croatia as his teammates have more than displayed their own grit and determination to be able to fend off the mighty Croatian rally.
It should also be noted that Poland has their own game-changer in Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski and so Portugal's defense will also be tested.
In the end, though, the odds favor world eighth-ranked Portugal over 27th-ranked Poland because of one man, and that is Ronaldo.
The predicted result is a tough 1-0 win for Portugal.
Poland starting lineup (4-4-2 formation): Fabianski; Piszczek, Glik, Pazdan, Jedrzejczyk; Blaszczykowski, Krychowiak, Maczynski, Grosicki; Milik, Lewandowski
Portugal starting lineup (4-4-2 formation): Rui; Soares, Pepe, Fonte, Guerreiro; Mario, Silva, Carvalho, Quaresma; Nani, Ronaldo
