Euro 2012: Czech Republic vs. Portugal Quarterfinal Preview and Prediction

The knockout stage is finally upon us.

While early favorites like Russia and the Netherlands may have already been bounced from this year's UEFA European Football Championship, surprise teams like Greece and Portugal have made this tournament an exciting one for football fans everywhere.

Today, the first of the tournament's four quarterfinals is set to take place in the Polish capital of Warsaw, between the Group A winning Czech Republic and Group B runners-up Portugal.

For the Czechs and Portuguese, the road to the quarters was somewhat similar.

Both squads would drop their opening matches (the Czechs dropped their tournament opener by a score of 4-1 to the Russians, while Portugal lost 1-0 to Germany), but both were able to re-gain their composure and advance to the next stage of Euro 2012.

A pair of victories against the Greeks and Polish would get the job done for the Czech Republic in the wide open Group A, while Portugal scored an impressive five goals in their final two fixtures against Denmark and Holland to finish second in Group B (also billed as the daunting "Group of Death").

For both sides, this afternoon's fixture is an opportunity to show the world that their squad is an elite team capable of reaching the semifinal of a major international tournament.

If the Czech Republic are to come away from Thursday's match with a win, they'll need keeper Petr Cech's game to continue to improve. (Cech allowed four goals against Russia, one goal against Greece, and then put up a clean sheet against Poland.)

Being able to slow down the red-hot Cristiano Ronaldo (the Portuguese superstar notched two goals against the Dutch and nearly had two more against Denmark), and the rest of the potent Portuguese attack (particularly the ever-dangerous Nani and much-improved Helder Postiga) will be a must.

Up front, it will be the veteran Milan Baros and nifty midfielder Tomas Rosicky to be able to counter the Portuguese attack and mark a goal or two themselves.

For Portugal to clinch a semifinal birth, it goes without saying that they'll need Cristiano Ronaldo to maintain his current form.

Despite missing two glorious chances against the Danish side in Portugal's second match of the competition, Ronaldo came back to finish two chances against the Dutch, showing he is the premier player of the tournament.

Ultimately it will come down to Portugal attempting to dominate possession with a much more balanced attack, and making it tough for the Czechs to create any scoring opportunities.

Prediction: Czech Republic 0, Portugal 2

The Czech Republic may have shown tremendous perseverance in overcoming an opening match loss to advance to the knockout round, they are just not strong enough to match up with Cristiano Ronaldo and a Portuguese side that has scored five goals in their last two matches and defeated one of the top teams in the world in Holland. 

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