Portugal U-21 vs Belgium U-21: Expect cagey affair in Tbilisi
- Sergiu Baltuta
- 26 June 2023
Portugal U-21 will take on Belgium U-21 at Mikheil Meskhi Stadium in Tbilisi on Tuesday evening in their final Group A match of the Euro Under-21 Championship.
The Portuguese U-21 side have underperformed so far in the Euro Under-21 Championship, picking up just one point from their first two games. They now need to win their final game against Belgium U-21 to reach the knockout stages.
Belgium U-21 are in a slightly better position, managing two draws in their first two games. The Belgians should have beaten Georgia but succumbed to a late equaliser. However, they only need a draw from this game to qualify for the next round.
The Portuguese side came into the Euro Under-21 Championship with players from some of Europe's top teams, including Vitinha, Pedro Neto and Fabio Silva. Despite this, they have been disappointing so far.
Their most recent game was a 1-1 draw against Netherlands U-21. Andre Almeida opened the scoring for the Portuguese after an excellent pass from Neto. The Dutch missed several chances but managed to secure an equaliser thanks to a goal from Ajax striker Brian Brobbey.
This result doesn't help Rui Jorge's men very much as they were defeated 2-0 in their opening game against Georgia. Giorgi Gagua and Saba Sazonov scored the goals for the hosts in the first half of the game.
Suggested bet:
Under 2.5 goals
This means that Portugal U-21 are bottom of Group A and need three points against Belgium U-21 to reach the quarter-finals.
Belgium U-21 were among the outsiders of this group, alongside Georgia U-21, but The Red Devils have a good chance of reaching the knockout stages.
They played very well in their most recent game against Georgia U-21, which was one of the best games of the tournament so far. It ended 2-2 after Belgium surrendered a 2-0 half-time lead. Maxim De Cuyper opened the scoring in the 15th minute, then Largie Ramazani doubled the advantage in the 38th minute.
The second half belonged to Georgia though. First Heorhiy Tsitaishvili reduced the deficit in the 51st minute and then Giorgi Guliashvili scored the equaliser in the 87th minute.
This result came after the draw they managed in their first game at the Euro Under-21 Championship. Belgium U-21 were held 0-0 against Netherlands U-21, despite dominating proceedings.
This means that Belgium U-21 are second in the group with two points, behind the surprising leaders Georgia U-21 on four points.
Portugal U-21 and Belgium U-21 have only faced each other once before. The meeting took place at the 2007 Euro Under-21 Championship, with the tie ending 0-0.
Suggested bet:
Goalless draw
