New Real Madrid signing Kylian Mbappe, the very hand that rocked the cradle when Cristiano Ronaldo picked up four straight Champions League crowns, is an admiring onlooker as the two prepare to meet in the Euro 2024 quarter-final in Hamburg on Friday (kick-off 20:00 BST).

Ronaldo on Mbappe

Mbappe says it would “a joy” to play with five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo. “It’s admiration I’ve always had for Cristiano, for the player. Over time I’ve had the chance to get to know him and talk to him many times. We’re still in touch,” says 

Mbappe. “He’s always trying to give me advice and keep up to date with what’s going on. Playing against him is an honor for everything he’s done in football. No matter what happened before or what happens after, he’ll always be a legend of the game. But of course, we hope to win and reach the semi-finals.”

The Last Euros for Ronaldo

Ronaldo, 39, has announced this will be his final European championships, describing his ball with Mbappe as an “interchange” between two football greats. But Mbappe is not so sure and says Ronaldo is “unique,” he will be making his own statement out in the middle of Real Madrid. 

“There will only be one Ronaldo. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to start living my dream as a player in Madrid. I hope I’ll write a great story there, but I’m surely not going there to write the rest of Cristiano’s story. What he did in Madrid is unique. You have to appreciate what he has been, what he is. I’ve never been an envious person, so I just want to admire the greatness of the player. He has left his mark in football’s history. He is an inspiration for the children and has impressed many in his scoring and attainment of titles. So yeah, he is proven by his CV.”

Not Just About Mbappe vs Ronaldo

Playing alongside Mbappe during his time at Monaco, Silva has always said this contest is not about Mbappe and Ronaldo. “Kylian is a top player and he arrived at AS Monaco at the age of 16 or something like this. In the first weeks we were all saying, ‘Who’s this kid, who’s this kid?”.

 “I’m really happy for him that he had this unbelievable career. I wish him all the best but not  of course. I hope we’ll qualify.” Silva continued: “Obviously we’re not talking about it being Cristiano against Kylian, it’s about Portugal and France. They are the two great players, great icons – Kylian still at the beginning and the middle of his career. But this game is not based on them. It’s based on Portugal and we want to go through and qualify for the semi-finals.”

Portugal’s Challenges and Team Selection

Portugal is a country with political corruptibility’s current forces leading to team selection in bad light by the manager. Portuguese manager Roberto Martinez has come in for criticism over selection as well as the performance his team put up after they needed extra time and a penalty shootout to overcome Slovenia in their last-16 tie on Monday. “Criticism is part of the job description. Criticism shows how passionate people are about the national team and I accept that,” said Martinez. “I believe we have very important players and a very competitive dressing room. I see them every day in training so can make decisions. In the qualifying campaign, we won 10 matches and I was criticized. I’m not focused on myself. My job is to help our players perform as best we can and that’s what I promise all fans.”

Team News

Portugal goes into this tie injury-free, but may opt for one or two adjustments in its starting XI after playing for 120 minutes against Slovenia. Les Blues miss influential midfielder Adrien Rabiot, who was dismissed after picking a second booking in their 1-0 victory over Belgium, and likely to take his place is either Ousmane Dembele or Eduardo Camavinga, with Kingsley Coman earlier in the week departing the camp on a mission to attend the birth of his child.

Key Stats

• France have lost in just 3 of their previous 14 games with Portugal, in which they were victorious in 11 and drew in 2 of them; they lost in the European Championship 2016 final at Stade de France (0-1).
• It is not the first time for Portugal in the quarter-finals of the Euros; this is their 7th as long as the round was introduced back in 1996.
• France might reach the semi-finals of that tournament for the 4th time over the previous 5 major tournaments.
• France have not scored from open play in their last five games—both of Mbappe’s goals at Euro 2024 came through two own goals and a penalty.
• Portugal has failed to score in their last two matches. They never failed to score in three games  at a major tournament.
• Between 2018 and 2022, Ronaldo scored 10 goals in nine matches at major tournaments. He has scored no goals in his eight most recent appearances at the World Cup and the Euros.