The Blues and the Selection Portuguese team meet in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 on Friday 5 July in Hamburg. A big match between favourites and a duel between two superstars: captains Kylian Mbappé and Cristiano Ronaldo. The former wants to win everything while the latter, at the twilight of an immense career, is aiming for one last big moment with Portugal.
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This is a photograph that has become famous in the world of football. A photo taken in 2012 which shows Cristiano Ronaldo, all smiles, alongside a happy teenager, dressed in a Real Madrid tracksuit. This young boy is Kylian Mbappé, not yet 14 years old but already followed by the biggest clubs in Europe, sensitive to this budding talent. The Frenchman, who is visiting the White House facilities, willingly poses with his idol CR7, the Madrid lethal weapon.
Years have passed since then. Kylian Mbappé has become one of the best players on the planet, world champion at 19, many times crowned with PSG. Cristiano Ronaldo, after an eternity at the highest level collecting the biggest trophies and records, is still there. Not as flamboyant, certainly, but that’s rather logical at 39. The veteran will find on his path, in this Euro 2024the one who adored him.
Mbappé, Real Madrid’s new jewel, in Ronaldo’s footsteps
In 2016, Kylian Mbappé was not yet wearing the blue jersey when Ronaldo and his teammates saw France’s dream of reaching the Euro final at home shattered in Paris. The striker was, however, there during the 2021 edition, in the group stage, for a 2-2 draw against Portugal. Battling against one of his role models is nothing new for the number 10 of the Blues, who has also already faced coach Zinédine Zidane with PSG.
In this quarter-final in Hamburg, the match within the match will be watched with great attention. Firstly because Mbappé and Ronaldo are exceptional players, even when they seem less fit. Secondly, because in the background of this France-Portugal, there is an impression of linked destinies, even of a passing of the torch.
After two crazy decades, including several stratospheric seasons, the best scorer in the history of football is very close to the end of his career. Cristiano Ronaldo is no longer as incredible as he once was. For the past year and a half, he has been playing in Saudi Arabia. The most brilliant and intense part of his football career is largely behind him. The final curtain is looming, and this Euro may well be his swan song with the national team.
The situation is very different for Kylian Mbappé. World champion in 2018, runner-up in the 2022 world championship, the Frenchman is at a turning point in his career. At 25, as his best years approach, he will finally join the biggest club in the world: Real Madrid, the same place where his role model Ronaldo shone for nine seasons. Where he is supposed to follow in the footsteps of CR7 – who joined Real at 24 –, become the greatest player of his era and get his hands on the Champions League. The dynamics of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner and the new Madrid player intersect. One star is in its twilight while the other is growing ever stronger.
Two scorers in search of a comeback
At the Volksparkstadion, the French “Kyky” have the opportunity to climb into the last four and precipitate the possible international retirement of Cristiano Ronaldo, although the number 7 has accustomed us to constantly pushing back the time to hang up his boots with his Seleção. On Thursday, in front of the press, the French striker reiterated his respect for his elder… while hoping to see him defeated:
” Everyone knows the admiration I have for the player. I had the chance to know him, to talk with him. We are still in contact, he gives me advice. It is an honor for everything he has done. He will remain a football legend, but of course we hope to win tomorrow (Friday, editor’s note) and go through to the semi-finals. »
A project that is obviously contrary to the plan of the Portuguese captain, an animal that is never satisfied and eager to lead his talented team to a new continental title. To make a difference, the two attackers would be well advised to find better sensations. Because for the moment, each has had a rather dull Euro.
Kylian Mbappé, hampered by a broken nose that forces him to play with a mask, has only scored one goal from a penalty. Like his teammates, he is struggling in the offensive area. Cristiano Ronaldo, for his part, is playing his 6th Euro – a record – but has still not found the net. In the round of 16, against Slovenia, the striker even cracked: after goalkeeper Jan Oblak saved his penalty taken in extra time, the Madeira native burst into tears alongside his teammates.
The time for one or the other to wake up may have come on July 5. France and Portugal are counting on them a lot. It remains to be seen who, the veteran or his junior, will have the last word.