To France, the Euro final competition where it will be facing Portugal casts a reflection back to the feverish days of 1998 when Zinedine Zidane he guided the country to victory.
However, for Portugal a strong determination remains to clear the 2004 shame on its home ground to Greece.
With both countries powered by this determination on both sides, the final battle appears to be a tougher game of intellect and battle of will than seen on the play field.
France qualified for the final through Griezmann’s chances which were converted and thus giving the country a 2-0 win over Germany in Marseille on Thursday.
Note, France’s qualification over Germany was its first win over their rivals in major tournament since 1958.
On the other end, Portugal celebrated its victory as tens of thousands also packed the Lisbon squares to watch Portugal’s matches on giant screens.
Portugal midfielder Joao Mario said Friday that his country’s 11 million fans also believe their team will win.
When asked about the hopes of Portugal against France on Sunday, he said: “Probabilities don’t win matches”.
He added: “They can believe that but 100 percent of the Portuguese people believe in a Portugal win.”
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