Euro 2024: What is Kylian Mbappe's record against Portugal?

Mbappe’s France face Portugal in quarterfinals of Euro 2024.

Kylian Mbappe and France have booked their place in the quarterfinals of Euro 2024 after a hard-fought 1-0 win against a tricky Belgium at the Dusseldorf Arena in the round of 16.

With the game evenly poised at 0-0 and looking almost certain to head into extra time, Les Bleus managed to bag a late winner in the match courtesy of a Jan Vertonghen own goal in the 85th minute that proved to be enough to send them into the next round.

Heading into the knockout rounds, France had a mixed-bag group stage run where they finished second in Group D behind table-toppers Austria. Didier Deschamps’ side kicked off their campaign with a narrow 1-0 win against Austria, all thanks to a first-half own goal by defender Maximilian Wober. This was followed by a goalless draw against the Netherlands and a frustrating 1-1 draw against the already knocked-out Poland to end the group stages with more questions than answers.

The 2018 World Cup winners are now set to face Portugal at the Volksparkstadion in the quarterfinals. Group F table-toppers Portugal avoided a major scare against underdogs Slovenia in the round of 16 as they beat them on penalty shootouts (3-0), courtesy of the heroics of their goalkeeper Diogo Costa, who saved a historic three penalties.

Captain Kylian Mbappe has not had the best of Euros so far, as he suffered a severe broken nose injury in the opening game against Austria. However, he made a miraculous comeback in the very next game against the Netherlands with a protective mask but was ultimately an unused substitute.

Mbappe did start France’s final group-game draw against Poland, where he converted a penalty to open his account for the tournament. In the round-of-16 triumph against Belgium, he failed to have much of an impact on the match in what was a mediocre display by the talisman.

The 25-year-old forward has enjoyed a fruitful international career so far, scoring an impressive 48 goals in 82 caps for France. During this period, he has not had the best of records against Portugal, failing to score even a single goal in two appearances against them, with both games ending in stalemate.

Mbappe’s first appearance against Portugal came in a goalless draw during the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League group stages, where he started the match for France as a striker. His latest appearance against them came in an entertaining 2-2 draw during the Euro 2021 group stages, where he started the game on the left wing. On both occasions, Mbappe failed to get on the scoresheet.

Heading into their decisive Euro 2024 quarterfinals fixture, France are slight favourites to beat Portugal and progress to the semifinal stage. Kylian Mbappe will hope to get back in goal-scoring form for such a crucial match as he looks to lead Le Bleus to potentially yet another international glory.

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