HIGHLIGHTS
FINAL SCORE | POR 2-2 FRA
FULL-TIME: France, unbeaten throughout the group stage, tops 'F'. Germany finishes second and Portugal third. Hungary is out of the competition, but that only narrates half the story. They did give the other three a fair share of the scares tonight!
90 + 4' The game at Munich has come to an end - 2-2. Portugal and France, now assured of a last-16 spot, are just happy to nonchalantly stroke the ball about.
90 + 1' Coman has been subjected to a clumsy challenge by Bruno. There is a potential penalty check underway. Looks fine.
90' We will have five minutes of additional time.
86' Portugal sub - Oliveira IN, Sanches OUT.
85' Coman's addition has reflected on France's movements on the pitch. There is a fresh tinge of energy about the players. He cuts one back to Griezmann but the Barcelona striker shoots wide. That proves to be his last touch of the night as he is replaced by Sissoko.
83' A silly challenge from Kimpembe on Ronaldo gets him a yellow card.
82' Meanwhile, Leon Goretzka has pulled things level at the Allianz Arena! The Group F battle keeps throwing up a surprise when you least expect it.
81' Kante manages to sneak the ball away from Sanches just when he was about to unleash a drive on goal.
77' Semedo hobbles off with an injury. Dalot comes on. What a game to be thrust into! A maiden appearance in the senior side for the 22-year-old.
75' Semedo does well to intercept a long-ranger from Griezmann.
73' Fresh pairs of legs for Portugal as Fernandes and Neves walk in for Moutinho and Silva. A look at the possession trends show it is 50-50 again!
68' Pogba goes for the trigger from 25 yards. PATRICIO! A one-handed blinder from the Wolves keeper denies Les Bleus . He is up on his feet again in no time to pull off another block against Griezzman's shot on the rebound.
65' WAIT WHAT???!!! HUNGARY HAS SCORED AGAIN. 2-1 IN MUNICH. DRAMA. MORE DRAMA.
65' Coman replaces Tolisso even as the stadium erupts... Hold on to your hair! Germany has equalised. What a night this is turning out to be...
63' Silva miscues and how! This has gone flying into the stands. Poor effort.
60' GOAAAL! Ronaldo scores his 109th goal in national colours, equaling Ali Daie's all-time international goalscoring record.
58' PENALTY TO PORTUGAL! Kounde tries to block a Ronaldo cross with his arm. What was he even thinking? They are checking with VAR but he looks guilty alright.
54' AS IT STANDS, defending champion Portugal is hovering near the exit door. Germany has scored more goals and that would mean a third-spot finish for Low's side. Hungary will move up to second. France claims top slot.
50' Digne, who had just come on, seems to have pulled a muscle. Rabiot replaces the Everton defender.
46'
Benzema's celebrations are shortlived as he has been ruled offside by inches! WAIT UP. A VAR CHECK GOES IN FAVOUR OF FRANCE. A stunning pass from Pogba sees Benzema fire in low off the far post from eight yards.
45' Portugal charges on early in the second half, with Silva leading the attack on the right, but he loses out in a challenge to the fresh-off-the-bench Digne.
45' France and Portugal bring about changes at the break. Digne comes on for Hernandez. Danilo goes off, only to be replaced by Palhinha.
HALF-TIME: AS IT STANDS, France is top of Group F and Portugal second. The last-16 matchups: Belgium vs Hungary, England vs Portugal, France vs Switzerland.
45 + 2' GOAL! Benzema sends Patricio the other way to score from the spot and register his first goal in the Euros.
45' PENALTY TO FRANCE! Semedo and Mbappe collide in the box, prompting the referee to instantly point towards the spot. There is a VAR check but the call prevails, despite what had initially looked like a soft challenge.
Three minutes have been added on.
Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first European player in World Cup and European Championship history to score a combined 20 goals across the two competitions. -Opta
40' Three yellow cards already for France! Griezmann has been booked now for clashing with Danilo.
39' Varane goes long for Benzema, but the RMA forward ends up losing the ball to Pepe.
37' Hernandez goes into the ref's book for a late challenge on Bernardo.
31' RONALDO SENDS LLORIS THE WRONG WAY AS HE SCORES FROM THE SPOT TO PUT PORTUGAL IN FRONT! As things stand, Portugal has climbed to the top of the Group F table.
27' PENALTY TO PORTUGAL! As Moutinho curls in a freekick, Lloris comes off his line to punch the ball out. The goalkeeper ends up catching Danilo in the face as well. Gets booked for the same.
24' It has been an intense contest on the pitch, thus far. The sides have been feeling each other out, dealing the occasional jab and hook in the ring whenever an opportunity has presented itself. The possession stands at 50-50 too!
20' Ronaldo swings way off target! Varane commits an error, setting the Portugal striker up for a volley from 20 yards out, but the scoreline remains unchanged.
19' Semedo's low cross from the right has been cleared by Kimpembe at the near post.
16' Pogba finds Mbappe this time but Rui Patricio comes off with a stunning block. It was a harmless effort anyway as the flag goes up. The PSG mainstay was a good half-a-metre offside there.
14' Sanches tries to pick Ronaldo up front but Lloris comes to the visitor's rescue.
13' The crowd in Budapest has suddenly cranked up the decibel levels. Maybe, we have a development in Munich. Confirmation - Hungary has taken a lead over Germany. Goodness gracious!
11' Rui Patricio intervenes again to deny Pogba an opportunity to thread a through ball to Mbappe in the centre.
9' Griezmann wins back possession with a wonderfully-timed sliding tackle on Jota.
6' Sanches clips one towards Ronaldo in the centre of the area. The star striker flicks a header on target but it ends up being catching practice for the French shot-stopper.
4' Sanches misfires but the ball almost found Bernardo Silva on the bounce. Lloris clears up the impending danger.
3' Another long pass - for Tolisso on this occasion. Rui Patricio charges in to gather the rising ball.
2' Pogba goes long on the right. Kounde collects and sends in a searching cross. Pepe heads clear.
1' KICKOFF! France forward Benzema gets the ball rolling from left to right.
12:24 AM: Time for the national anthems. France up first.
12:23 AM: The teams are making their way out onto the pitch led by the match officials.
LINEUPS
Portugal's midfield had been found wanting in its previous outings and thus it comes as no surprises that Fernandes and Carvahlo have made way for Moutinho and Sanches in the eleven.
Felix, who had been ruled out of the match against Germany on Saturday because of muscle pain, is back, albeit as a sub.
We also have three changes in Deschamps' side - Kounde, Hernandez and Tolisso make the cut.
Portugal: Rui Patricio; Semedo, Pepe, Dias, Guerreiro; Danilo, Moutinho, Sanches; B. Silva, Jota; Ronaldo
Subs: Lopes, Palhinha, Oliveira, Felix, R Silva, Dalot, Neves, Fernandes, A Silva, Fonte
France : Lloris; Kounde, Varane, Kimpembe, L. Hernandez; Pogba, Kante, Tolisso; Griezmann, Benzema, Mbappe
Subs: Mandanda, Maignan, Lenglet, Pavard, Digne, Sissoko, Coman, Rabiot, Zouma, Ben Yeddder, Giroud, Lemar
Referee : A. Lahoz (ESP)
PREDICTED XI
Portugal : Patricio; Semedo, Pepe, Dias, Guerreiro; Pereira, Moutinho, Renato Sanches, Bruno, Jota; Ronaldo
France : Lloris; Kounde, Varane, Kimpembe, L. Hernandez; Pogba, Kante, Tolisso; Griezmann, Benzema, Mbappe
RECENT FORM
Portugal : W-D-W-W-L
France : W-W-W-W-D
MATCH PREVIEW
World champion France hopes its attacking stars finally align against defending European champion Portugal on Thursday in an intriguing finale to Euro 2020's heavyweight group.
Tournament favourites Les Bleus dominated Germany in their opener but only won through an own goal, then looked short of ideas and stamina in a surprising 1-1 draw against Hungary.
The side does top Group F - after Portugal was humbled by Germany - but the fearsome attacking trio of Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema will be disappointed to have only found the net once so far.
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Mbappe has looked as fast and tricky as ever, pressuring Germany's Mats Hummels for the own goal and setting up Griezmann for the equaliser against Hungary. Benzema, though, has now failed to score from 30 shots over three European Championships.
But Deschamps was keeping faith with the man who bagged 29 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid this season, to earn a spot in the national team for the first time since 2015.
"With his experience, I don't think he has doubts. He's been doing some good things. He knows a lot is expected from him but it's not just about goals," the coach said.
A draw against Portugal, which beat France in the Euro 2016 final, may be enough for Didier Deschamps' side to go through as group winner. It has four points, one more than Germany and Portugal, while Hungary is bottom with one.
France could also qualify for the last 16 before kickoff if results in other groups guarantee it going through as one of the best third-placed teams even should it lose.
Deschamps said his three vaunted forwards could not bear the whole responsibility in attack.
"You cannot dissociate their performance from that of the midfielders and the fullbacks," he explained. "They don't have that many games together and it can always be better."
Griezmann was relaxed.
"What every striker needs at the beginning of a competition is to score that first goal," he said. "Kylian and Karim have the chances. When one goes in, they will flow."
Deschamps does have alternatives up front in Olivier Giroud, France's all-time second top-scorer, Kingsley Coman and Wissam Ben Yedder. Ousmane Dembele would also have been an option but was ruled out of the tournament on Monday with a knee injury.
After a 3-0 victory against Hungary, Portugal was beaten 4-2 by Germany despite Fernando Santos' cautious approach and changes could be made against France, with midfielder Renato Sanches expected to start in place of Bernardo Silva.
Cristiano Ronaldo remains its best asset: he already has three goals in these Euros and is the tournament's all-time top scorer with 12.
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