Portugal vs France preview.

Some hours to the Euro2016 final showpiece in franxe, we take a look at some point between this two great team.

Portugal defender Pepe is expected to return for the final after missing the previous match with a thigh problem.

Coach Fernando Santos must decide whether to keep faith with midfielder Danilo or recall William Carvalho, who has completed a one-game ban.

France coach Didier Deschamps is again expected to have all 23 players available.

His biggest selection dilemma is whether to recall midfielder N'Golo Kante or continue with Moussa Sissoko.

MATCH PREVIEW

An expectant host nation begins as favourites to lift the Henri Delaunay trophy against largely unfancied opponents, who have doggedly fought their way to the final despite little attacking fluency.

But European Championship finals do not always follow the script - as the Portugal players involved in their shock defeat by Greece in 2004 can testify. Twelve years on and it is the Portuguese cast in the role of unfashionable underdogs and their opponents France who must withstand the pressure and capitalise on home advantage.

Portugal coach Fernando Santos freely concedes his side are the tournament's "ugly duckling", but he promised during the group stage that they would reach the final - and so it has proved.
France, however, have been far more ruthless, with 13 of those efforts finding the net. One more would see them equal the record for the most goals at a single European Championship (set by the French in 1984).

Crucial to their success has been the clinical form of Antoine Griezmann, now heavily odds-on to win the Golden Boot after taking his tournament tally to six with two goals against Germany. The 25-year-old - whose maternal grandfather was Portuguese - is already among esteemed company at the tournament.

Griezmann's exploits are all the more remarkable given he was dropped from the starting XI following France's opening game.

That is just one of several difficult decisions made by coach Didier Deschamps which have paid handsome dividends - whether they are changes in formation, personnel or even the non-selection of Karim Benzema before the tournament.

Deschamps has said that France reaching the final of their home Euro 2016 is helping to bring back a feelgood factor in the country, where 130 people were killed in November in attacks across Paris.

"We don't have the power to solve the French people's problems but we can ease their worries," Deschamps said.

"The players are well aware of that power, and what they can give to the French people by wearing these colours. When you see the passion, inside and outside the stadium, this team has everything it takes to be loved, the players are performing well on the pitch and I'm very proud."

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

France have won their last 10 games against Portugal. Their overall record is W18, D1, L5.
Portugal last avoided defeat against the French in 1975, when they won a friendly 2-0 in Paris.
France's 10-game winning streak includes the three previous meetings at major tournaments, all of which came at the semi-final stage. Michel Platini hit a late winner as France won 3-2 in extra time at Euro 84, while Zinedine Zidane scored a golden goal (via a penalty) as the French won 2-1 at Euro 2000. And another Zidane spot-kick put France in the 2006 World Cup final with a 1-0 win.
The sides have met twice in friendlies in the last two years. Les Bleus won 2-1 at the Stade de France in October 2014 with goals from Karim Benzema and Paul Pogba (Ricardo Quaresma replied with a penalty), while Mathieu Valbuena's free-kick gave France a 1-0 victory in Lisbon last September.
Portugal

Portugal have played the most games in the history of the European Championship without ever winning the tournament (34, before this final). Should they beat France, that unwanted record will pass to England (31 matches).
They are the first team to reach the final of the European Championship after ending third in the gr