How Celtic’s Paulo Bernardo rated as he captained Portugal U21s against France U21s at Euro 2025

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The season is still going for Celtic midfielder Paulo Bernardo at Euro 2025 for Portugal’s U21s.

The 23-year-old had a bit of a broken season as Celtic won the double under Brendan Rodgers, playing just over 1,000 minutes in the Premiership after spending a period on the sidelines.

Added to that, Bernardo was behind Celtic trio Reo Hatate, Callum McGregor and Arne Engels in the pecking order, so his game time was further limited.

But Bernardo is going to earn plenty of minutes at Euro 2025, as he captains Portugal U21s, in the hope they can strike glory.

And they kicked things off against a star-studded France team on Wednesday.

• READ MORE: Meet Paulo Bernardo, the Celtic star who needs a strong 25/26 season

How Celtic’s Paulo Bernardo rated as Portugal U21s start Euro 2025 with a point vs France U21s

Bernardo played the entire game, coming up against some serious talent, including Tottenham’s Wilson Odobert and Bayern Munich’s Mathys Tel.

But the Celtic man couldn’t earn his side that much-needed goal or breakthrough, as he played alongside Diogo Nascimento and Southampton’s Mateus Fernandes in the middle of the park.

Foot Mob rated Bernardo’s performance at 6.8, including how he had the fewest touches (28) from any of the outfield players who played for 90 or more minutes.

Bernardo’s Celtic future

Celtic’s midfield was a big talking point towards the end of the season, especially with Engels dividing opinion, and talk around Hatate’s future.

Someone like Bernardo has the ability to earn more game time, and he needs to earn more minutes next season and try to claim a regular starting spot.

Hopefully, a strong European campaign for the Portugal youngsters will do him the world of good, because if he makes a name for himself there, then the next step is the senior squad.