Portugal -21 vs Belgium -21 Prediction & Betting Tips - Euro U21

Prediction published on 25/06/2023, 11:38  by Joseph King | Modified on 25/06/2023 at 11:43 in Football Predictions

The U21 European Championship enters the final group stage match with fourth-place Portugal taking on second-place Belgium in Group A. With only a single point from their first two matches, 2021 finalists Portugal are faced with a must-win spot to avoid elimination. Anything less than the three points will see Portugal headed home and even a win wouldn’t fully guarantee the Esperanças a place in the quarter-finals. Portugal will also need Georgia to avoid defeat against the Netherlands when the two nations meet up at the same time. A win for the Dutch would boost them to five points which would leave Georgia claiming second-place with four points. Portugal’s loss to the co-host nation in the opener would ultimately wind up being their demise in this situation as Georgia would edge them on head-to-head record. It’s been a difficult tournament for Portugal but they still boast an incredible amount of talent in their ranks. Premier League fans will likely be familiar with Pedro Neto, Fabio Silva and Nuno Tavares. Their last match finished in a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands which saw them concede the equalizer in the 78th minute. 

Belgium have a few more paths into the quarter-final than their Portuguese opponents today. A win here would secure them passage, potentially even as the group winners depending on the result in the other match. A draw might also be enough to see them through in second-place as long as the Netherlands fail to beat Georgia in their final game. It was a tale of two halves for Belgium in their most recent fixture with Georgia. The young Red Devils raced out to a 2-0 first half lead. They were dominating the play with nine shots to Georgia’s three and created an impressive three clear cut scoring chances with everything going to plan. However, an inspired comeback from the hosts would see them erase the deficit, finding a 2-2 equalizer in the 87th minute to break Belgian hearts. A draw will be nothing new to fans of the Belgian U21 team as the side have now racked up six draws in their last nine appearances. While they’ve done a decent job of avoiding defeat, only two wins during that period is a worrying sign.