Two nations looking to return to form will do battle today in an international friendly between France and Portugal. The match scheduled for 2:45 p.m. ET will be held at the Stade de France in Paris and can be live streamed here free. Additional TV coverage can be found on ESPN Deportes.
France head coach Didier Deschamps had this to offer ahead of today's international encounter (via Goal): "It's complicated [trying to stop Cristiano Ronaldo]. Difficult because he is a player that has a very high efficiency. Even if that is more on display at his club, he is also effective with his national team. The fans who will come to the stadium will be happy to see him, but I don't know if he will play or how long for because they have an important game three days after this friendly."
"There will be a lot of special attention on him because in a head-to-head, in a one-on-one, he is someone who manages to make a difference," he added. "It will be important to limit his influence on his team. But then, inevitably, it leaves more freedom to the other players."
When asked about his striker and Ronaldo's teammate, Karim Benzema, the Frenchman added: "Although we tend to question the qualities of Karim, especially here in France, Karim is a player of the highest level. As a striker, he has periods where he scores a little less than others, at Real as well, even if he plays a very important role in the game. He makes a lot of assists as well."
Tactical Preview
Player to Watch: Portugal's Joao Moutinho is yet to open his season account in nine league appearances with Paris Saint-Germain. Better known for his facilitation, the 28-year-old is averaging 2.1 key passes and one take-on per match.
France's Projected Lineup (4-3-3): Lloris; Evra, Mathieu, Varane, Sagna; Cabaye, Matuidi, Pogba; Griezmann, Benzema, Valbuena
Portugal's Projected Lineup (4-2-3-1): Patricio; Eliseu, Alves, Pepe, Soares; Moutinho, Carvalho; Ronaldo, Danny, Nani; Eder
Note: Credit all statistics to officially licensed data from Opta Sports (via WhoScored).
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