Key events
67 min: Nothing comes of the resulting corner. Meanwhile the ineffectual Antoine Griezmann is replaced by Ousmane Dembélé.
66 min: Kolo Muani is released into the box down the right by Koundé’s graceful flick. He’s one on one with Diogo Costa, but scuffs the shot, which allows Dias to slide in and block. The ball still nearly loops into the bottom left, but sails inches wide. France should be ahead.
64 min: Thankfully nothing comes of the incorrectly awarded corner, or we’d never hear the end of it.
63 min: Rafael Leão burst down the left again and tees up Vitinha, who slams goalwards from close range. Somehow Maignan gets in the way to parry. That’s even better than his save from a couple of minutes ago! Ronaldo attempts to flick the rebound into the bottom-right corner, but the ball clanks off his other leg and out for a … corner?!
62 min: Tchouameni, sashaying in from the left, hits a shot that nearly goes out for a throw on the right. Oh dear. At least he tried.
61 min: João Cancelo slips a cute ball down the inside-right channel to release Bruno Fernandes into the box. Fernandes opens his body and sidefoots powerfully towards the bottom-left corner, but Maignan stretches to save wonderfully. The rebound falls to João Cancelo, who attempts a curler towards the top left but gets it all wrong. Goal kick. As close as either team have got.
60 min: Nothing comes of the corner. That was some challenge by Camavinga, who had to time that perfectly.
59 min: Portugal get patient again. But then Rafael Leão suddenly turns on the jets. He tears down the left flank, cuts into the box, and prepares to shoot from the corner of the six-yard box before Camavinga sticks a toe in to poke out for a corner. That’s sensational play all round.
57 min: Mbappé is fine to go on. He’s definitely feeling that nose, though. Meanwhile replays show there really wasn’t much contact at all between Griezmann and João Palhinha, the former tripping over his own feet. We all move on.
55 min: With Mbappé down, play goes on and Maignan flaps the ball clear. France counter through Griezmann, who appears to be brought down by João Palhinha. But the referee rules no contact. Play then stops so Mbappé can get treatment.
54 min: Ronaldo works his way down the left and wins a corner off Camavinga. He double-claps and hollers a come on to encourage his team-mates into action. Bernardo Silva meets the corner and heads the ball straight into Mbappé’s startled coupon. The striker goes down, stunned, his nose having taken another painful whack.
52 min: Kanté slips a pass down the inside-left channel for Hernández, who sends a dangerous low cross through the six-yard box. Kolo Muani can’t reach it to tap home. France are beginning to look a little sharper.
51 min: Nuno Mendes chases a pass into the France box from the left. He goes over Upamecano’s leg and wants a penalty, but he’s obviously looking for it, and the referee’s not falling for the dive.
50 min: France stroke it around slowly. Then Mbappé suddenly ups the tempo, cutting in from the left and one-twoing with Kanté. He slams a fierce shot towards the bottom left, but it’s also straight at Diogo Costa.
48 min: Bernardo Silva loops a cross in from the left. Hernández chests it down calmly for Maignan to collect. Ronaldo gets performatively furious at the low quality of the ball into the box.
47 min: No immediate sign of any new proactive attitudes.
Portugal get the second half underway. No changes.
Is it any surprise that this game has remained goalless? We’re four-and-a-half matches into Euro 2024, and as already mentioned, France have three goals to their name. Two of them have been scored by the opposition, and the other is a penalty. Thing is, Portugal’s record isn’t much better. Their tournament tally is currently five, and two of those are own goals. None of this augurs well, so lump on this game going to extra time and penalties. You can thank me later if this entry tempts the football gods into providing us with a basketball-style second half featuring at least five goals.
Half-time entertainment. This time tomorrow in Berlin …
HALF TIME: Portugal 0-0 France
After exactly four seconds of additional time, referee Michael Oliver decides enough’s enough and whistles for the break. Time for tweaks and improvements!
45 min: Vitinha shovels a pass down the inside-left channel in hope of locating the scampering Bruno Fernandes. But the pass isn’t accurate, and Maignan comes out to claim.
44 min: This match is drifting towards the half-time break, during which both managers will hopefully issue some beneficial advice. This hasn’t been great.
42 min: …. but though Ronaldo strikes his usual pre-kick pose, it’s Bruno Fernandes who takes the free kick. A surprise effort that curls over the wall and sails wide left.
41 min: … then Vitinha tries to make something happen, gliding in from the left. Kolo Muani takes him down. A free kick 25 yards out, just to the left of centre. Ronaldo’s eyes light up.
40 min: The teams take turns to demonstrate their patience.
38 min: João Cancelo whistles a low cross through the French six-yard box from the right, but there’s nobody in red to poke home. The goalkeepers aren’t exactly being put through their paces.
37 min: Portugal have enjoyed 58 percent of possession so far. They ping it around patiently. Suddenly Vitinha slips a pass down the inside-right channel for Bernardo Silva … but that man Saliba gets involved again, refusing to allow any shooting opportunity to open up. Silva is forced to turn tail. Then he’s dispossessed by Saliba, who lays off to Maignan to bash clear. What fine defending.
35 min: Bruno Fernandes goes back to the day job of playmaking, and drills a pass down the left for Ronaldo to chase. But much of the pace has gone now, and Saliba is always going to win the footrace. The French defender intercepts and wanders off elegantly.
34 min: France stay patient, and eventually there’s a little bit of space for Camavinga down the right. His low cross finds Griezmann on the edge of the six-yard box, with his back to goal, but he can’t spin in time to get a shot away, because Bruno Fernandes comes across to blooter out for a corner. That’s fine last-ditch defending, and nothing comes of the set piece.
33 min: Mbappé probes down the left. But Portugal have a lot of men back. No way through.
31 min: For a split second, it looks as though Kolo Muani is going to slalom into the Portugal box down the middle. But Pepe stands his ground, then hooks the ball away from his opponent, a perfectly timed challenge. It had to be, as it was just inside the area.
