Sports Blog 02/06/2016: International Friendly – England vs Portugal, Wednesday 2nd June 2016

With the squad selected, and Euro 2016 just over a week away, how will England fare in their final warm-up game against Portugal at 7.45pm on ITV?

Perhaps the biggest surprise in Roy Hodgson’s selection was his decision to drop Danny Drinkwater, despite a Man of the Match performance against the Netherlands, his strong connection with Jamie Vardy AND the fact that he was instrumental in Leicester winning the Premier League this season. Hodgson has also drawn criticism for picking only 3 central defenders, the England manager instead opting for an attack-focused squad that includes relative wildcard Marcus Rashford and the injury-laden trio of Daniel Sturridge, Jack Wilshere and Jordan Henderson.



Portugal’s squad, meanwhile, contains few surprises, with Cristiano Ronaldo leading a side that includes the hotly-tipped (and expensive Bayern Munich acquisition) Renato Sanches, former Manchester United star Nani and the Sporting Lisbon trio of Adrien Silva, Joao Mario and William Carvalho. Frustratingly for Hodgson and co. England won’t quite get the test they were hoping for, with Ronaldo sunning himself on a yacht instead of featuring at Wembley. It is a shame, as Hodgson has explicitly said the friendly was set up to give his side a taste of what the likes of Ronaldo’s Real teammate Gareth Bale have in store in the competition proper.

Nevertheless the game still provides a chance for Rashford (at a Super Mega PGM of 23-28), Rooney (at 21-25), Vardy (at 18-22), Sturridge and Kane (both at 27-32) the chance to impress Hodgson before he picks his starting line-up for the Russia game on the 11th June. It will also give the England back-four the opportunity to prove themselves after slightly rocky performances against Turkey and Australia.

Even without Ronaldo, Portugal arguably pose a far greater challenge to England than their past 2 friendlies; at the same time victory in this match would carry much more weight than those against Turkey and Australia, and would set the side up nicely for a strong start in France. Our Spreadex traders think Hodgson’s men just about have it in them, offering an England/Portugal Goal Supremacy spread of 0.45-0.65 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.25-2.45.

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