“I am following Portugal for Cristiano Ronaldo” - Indian cricket hero Sourav Ganguly on Euro 2024, names ‘very strong’ team ahead of Portugal, France

The football fever continues to rise in India as former cricketer Sourav Ganguly has claimed that he is following Portugal in Euro 2024 because of Cristiano Ronaldo. Ganguly opened up about his love for football and revealed the teams he is supporting as the Round of 16 is upon us.

In an event in Kolkata, Ganguly stated that he is closely following four teams -Portugal, England, Germany, and France in the Euro. The former BCCI president, who feels Germany are extremely strong, also revealed that he supports Portugal for Ronaldo.

"Except for India, Euro, I have watched the tournament very very closely. I follow England, I am following France, I am following Portugal for Cristiano Ronaldo I am following Germany as well. I find Germany very strong. I follow football very closely because I love it," revealed Ganguly (via Malaysia Sun).

While Germany's Euro 2024 group-stage run has been near-perfect, the other three teams have had their share of underwhelming moments.

Portugal started Euro 2024 with all guns blazing, beating the Czech Republic (2-1) and Turkey (3-0). However, Georgia halted their winning streak as Ronaldo's side lost 2-0. Meanwhile, France and England have struggled with consistency in the tournament.

France crawled into the knockouts without a goal from open play in three matches. They drew against the Netherlands (0-0) and Poland (1-1, with Kylian Mbappe scoring a penalty) while registering a 1-0 win against Austria courtesy of an own goal by Maximilian Wober. England have a similar group-stage story with Gareth Southgate's side beating Serbia 1-0 before drawing against Denmark (1-1) and Slovenia (0-0).

However, hosts Germany have dominated Euro 2024, registering impressive wins over Scotland (5-1) and Hungary (2-0) before ending their group stage with a 1-1 draw against Switzerland.

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Cristiano Ronaldo has broken several records in Euro 2024

Georgia v Portugal: Group F -(Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

Cristiano Ronaldo became the joint-highest assist provider (8) in European Championship history with his selfless pass to Bruno Fernandez inside the penalty box against Turkey in Portugal's second group-stage fixture. The Real Madrid legend now shares the record with former Czech footballer Karel Poborsky.

Additionally, the Ballon d'Or winner is the highest scorer in Euro history with 14 goals and was also declared as the oldest captain in the tournament at 39 years and 142 days when he put on the captain's armband against Georgia in Portugal's final group-stage fixture.

Portugal will face Slovenia in their Round of 16 game on Monday, July 1.