Whatever happens in Saturday's UEFA European Championship 2016 first knockout round clash between Portugal v Croatia, the tourney will lose one of its very best footballers. In the case of the former, it's Real Madrid midfielder L.Modrić; for the latter, it's his domestic teammate C.Ronaldo. It's these gamers that are sure to dominate the story of the encounter.
But, Croatia definitely aren't a one-men club, and they've been one of the most fascinating sides in France so far this summer. The meeting of master coach A.Čačić last year caused anxiety, though so far he's confounding all critics. They defeated Turkey and Spain en route to topping their group, and guaranteed themselves a spot in the easier half of the draw as a result.
Game: Croatia vs. Portugal
Date & Time: June 25, 2016 2 p.m. CT, 9 p.m. in France
TV: ESPN, HRT 2 (Croatia), SportTV1 (Portugal)
A Selecçã will need C.Ronaldo firing on all cylinders on Saturday night if they are to overcome Spain-conquering Croatia in Lens.
Portugal limped into the last 16 as a Cristiano brace helped them come from behind three times opposite Hungary to grab a third-successive draw during the group stages.
Croatia on the other hand have been one of the surprises of the tourney, beating Turkey and then shocking Spain to finish top of Group D.
