Belgium and Portugal will meet at the Estadio La Cartuja in Seville in one of the most interesting round of 16 matches in the Euro 2020. Both were heavy favourites to win the tournament at the start, but defending champions Portugal’s third-place result forced them to play Belgium in the final 16. It will be a match between two of the best strikers in the world, Romelu Lukaku and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo leads the tournament with five goals, while Lukaku is two behind him. Their goals, on the other hand, have proved crucial for their respective teams throughout the competition.
Ronaldo is regarded as one of the best players in the world and Lukaku believes he is now a world-class striker. As he prepares to face Ronaldo’s Portugal in the European Championship on Sunday, the Belgium striker said that everything fell into place for him over the previous season.
“At his age, he continues to shine and I’m going to try and get as close to his achievements as possible,” Lukaku said of his Portuguese rival, who he added was a major source of inspiration and motivation.
“Oh, I need competition. When someone says he’s better than me, I want to transcend him. Ronaldo wants to be the best at everything, (France striker Kylian) Mbappe also wants to win everything,” Lukaku told reporters.
The contrast between the two has dominated the build-up to the last-16 encounter in Seville between holders Portugal and top-ranked Belgium, which might be the round’s highlight.
Ronaldo is only one goal away from breaking the record for most national team goals, while Belgium’s leading scorer is Lukaku, who has 63 goals in 96 games.
Belgium’s golden generation has topped the FIFA rankings for nearly three years, but they have yet to win a major tournament.
In a separate Saturday interview on Belgian television, Lukaku said “success at Euro 2020 would cap a dream season.”
