France vs Portugal Betting Preview

'Big Phil' once again broke English hearts in the quarter-final of a major international tournament when his Portugal side edged England out following a penalty shoot-out in Gelsenkirchen, and now France lie in wait for what promises to be a fascinating semi-final on Wednesday. Portugal's style hasn't been the most easy on the eye in this tournament, despite the creative influences of Deco and Luis Figo and the pace - arrogance notwithstanding - of Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo. If some reports are to be believed, Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo would be more apt.However, you have to give credit where credit is due and the Portuguese have proven themselves to be a tough outfit to penetrate - they've conceded just once in their five games in this competition thus far, so their style is nevertheless effective, and it would be folly to underestimate them. But France are playing with a real swagger at present and, following what is politely described as a laboured and lacklustre start to the tournament, Raymond Domenech's charges have produced two excellent displays, latterly a Zinedine Zidane inspired footballing masterclass which saw them eliminate reigning champions Brazil in their quarter-final clash in Frankfurt. With that performance - not to mention a thrilling 3-1 victory over Spain in the penultimate round under their belt - Les Bleus are firing on all cylinders and it's hard to envisage anything other than a victory for them if they are in a similar mood in Munich. A four-five-one formation can often be negative, but Domenech has implemented it with much success. Despite his sound goalscoring record for Juventus in Serie A, David Trezeguet doesn't have the same level of impact when representing his country, and he and Henry simply do not click when paired up front. Furthermore, Louis Saha has had too many setbacks during the season at club level so he cannot be relied upon too heavily, while Sylvain Wiltord has become frustratingly inconsistent for the national team. In my opinion, there is no doubt that Henry is by far and away the best striker in the world at present, therefore Domenech would be foolish to do anything other than build the structure of the side around the Arsenal playmaker and goalscorer-in-chief. Despite his role as a lone striker, Henry benefits from the presence of the peerless Zidane, not to mention Frank Ribery, who has elevated himself to the top of Arsenal and Manchester United's summer transfer shopping lists with outstanding performances in the knockout stages of the tournament so far. They will both deliver plenty of ammunition for Henry, who rates a cracking bet at 6/4 to score anytime with Stan James (he's generally an even money chance). France's overall renaissance has also brought about a revival in Patrick Viera's game - the Juve midfielder has stamped his authority on the last two games, playing much like he did when marshalling Arsenal's midfield so successfully for many a year. Florent Malouda and Claude Makalele also feature in a midfield which boasts the perfect balance between defence and offence. The French really are looking good, and are particularly threatening from set-pieces. Indeed, it was when Zidane floated a free-kick in that Henry pounced to volley home the decisive goal against Brazil. And Patrick Viera got on the end of a free-kick to put France 2-1 up against Spain in the last 16, a goal which ultimately won the game before Zidane sealed it with a moment of brilliance. Well, one of many moments of brilliance. This game will be tight but France are very much on the ascendency in terms of confidence and form and with a number of their players going into this match knowing that this is their final World Cup hurrah, I expect them to prove too determined, too fast and too smart for Portugal. Verdict - 4pts Henry to score anytime @ 6/4 (Stan James)