Group B will take center stage at Euro 2012 on Saturday, 9 June, with Holland v Denmark and Germany v Portugal on the matchday schedule.
Of Saturday’s two “Group of Death” clashes, Germany v Portugal is surely the main event, with Die DFB-Elf the favorites, according to the bookmakers, to notch three points at the Arena Lviv in Lviv, Ukraine on 9 June.
Now then, Seleccao boss Paulo Bento may have something to say about that.
“We must be organized to defeat Germany,” he told UEFA.com. “We will also need courage, but if we only think about defending we will surely not get a good result.
“We must attack, but in an organized way. Above all we have to be strong, aggressive and cohesive, especially when we lose the ball.”
Competing with Germany on perhaps the biggest stage in international football is easier said than done. There is no doubt that Portugal will have their hands full on Saturday.
With that said, both teams have struggled, to an extent, in their warm-up friendlies heading into this summer’s European Championships.
Team Report: Portugal
Portugal suffered a 3-1 defeat to Turkey at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon on 2 June.
Toulouse forward Umut Bulut bagged a brace for the visitors, while Nani netted for the home side before Pepe conceded an own goal in the 88th minute.
It was a frustrating day for Paulo Bento and Portugal, who were eyeing a bounce performance after being held to a goalless draw against Macedonia at Estádio Dr. Magalhaes Pessoa in Leiria, Portugal on 26 May.
Will the Seleccao bounce back against Germany on the biggest European stage?
Team Report: Germany
On the other side of the touchline, Germany have not been clinical in their Euro 2012 preparations either.
The Euro 2008 runner-ups suffered a shocking 5-3 defeat to Switzerland on 26 May.
The Germans looked disorganized throughout, and conceded a hat-trick to Bayer Leverkusen striker Eren Derdiyok.
Stephan Lichtsteiner (67′) and Admir Mehmedi (76′) were also on the score-sheet for the Swiss, while Mats Hummels (45′), Andre Schürrle (64′) and Marco Reus (72′) found the back of the net for Germany.
Furthermore, Die DFB-Elf struggled to find their top form against Israel on 31 May.
Germany went on to win the match by a score of 2-0, courtesy of goals from Mario Gomez and Andre Schürrle, but once again they were far from their best.
Can Germany regain their top form against Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal on Saturday?
Euro 2012 Betting Odds: Germany v Portugal
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