Sports Mole reviews Sunday’s European Championship qualifier between Portugal and Iceland, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Already qualified Portugal It will bring great admiration Euro 2024 The qualification campaign ended with a contest against Iceland In Lisbon on Sunday evening.
Roberto MartinezPortugal have a perfect record in Group J, winning all nine of their matches to collect 27 points, and have already secured themselves a place in the first pot of the finals draw, but Iceland missed out on qualifying from this. section, sitting in fourth place.
Preview the match
© Reuters
There will, of course, be tougher tests in the future, but Portugal coach Martinez has made a very impressive start to his time at the helm, leading the team to nine straight victories.
The Iberian nation was eliminated from the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup thanks to a 1-0 loss to Morocco, but has not suffered a defeat since that encounter last December, sailing through its Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with nine straight wins.
Portugal has scored 34 goals and conceded only two, and will enter this match on the back of a 2-0 win over Liechtenstein on Thursday evening.
Martinez’s side have already secured a place in Pot 1 for the finals draw, and it will be great to see how this extremely talented group perform next summer; Portugal won Euro 2016, but only reached the round of 16 in Euro 2020, which was a disappointing tournament.
The home side will be aiming for a tenth successive win on Sunday, and while there is nothing substantive to play for, Martinez will assess his team once again, with a number of players hoping to do enough to strengthen their position in the final selection of players. Who will head to Germany next summer.
© Reuters
But Iceland found it difficult in this division, with three wins, one draw and five defeats in nine matches, leaving them in fourth place with 10 points.
Slovakia qualified from the division alongside Portugal by defeating Iceland 4-2 on Thursday, while Luxembourg and Bosnia and Herzegovina were confirmed to qualify for the qualifiers.
Omar HaridiThe team still has a slim chance of qualifying for the finals through the UEFA Nations League B qualifying route, but it will be a tough road to the tournament that way.
Our Boys qualified for the European Championships for the first time in their history in 2016 and managed to reach the quarter-finals of the competition, winning plenty of new supporters in the process.
Iceland also played in the 2018 World Cup, but were not present at Euro 2020 and also failed to reach the 2022 World Cup finals, so their potential absence from Euro 2024 is not too surprising.
European Champion Portugal qualifiers format:
European champion Iceland qualifiers format:
Advertisement – Content Below:
Team news
© Reuters
Portugal coach Martinez is once again expected to shuffle his lineup for this match, and the team is likely to show a number of changes from the one that started against Liechtenstein.
Diogo Costa He could go back to goal, though Joao Palinha, Robin Dias, Rafael Guerrero And Goncalo Inacio He may be included in the starting lineup for the competition in Lisbon.
Cristiano Ronaldo He was substituted in the 67th minute against Liechtenstein after scoring, and it would not be a surprise to see him in the starting line-up for this match, as the 38-year-old has proven that he is still a regular for Portugal with 10 goals. During the qualifying campaign.
Matthews Nunes, baby, Rafael Liao And Nelson Semedo The most notable absences from the team due to injuries, while Diogo Dalot He withdrew from the player group for personal reasons.
As for Iceland, Arnor Traustason He was forced off in the 25th minute of the match against Slovakia last time out due to injury, and will not be available for selection here.
as a result of, Aaron Gunnarsson He is likely to come in as a starter, while there are also expected to be some adjustments at forward positions for this match.
Arnor Sigurdsson It can keep its place, however Alfred Finnbogason And Andre Gudjohnsen He is likely to be introduced in the final third of the pitch on Sunday evening.
Possible Portugal lineup:
Costa; Cancelo, Inacio, Dias, Guerrero; Fernandez, Palinha, P. Silva; Felix, Ronaldo, Jota
Iceland possible lineup:
Olafsson. Sampstead, Palsson, Ingason, Vinson; Helensson, Gudmundsson, Gunnarsson; Gudjohnsen, Finnbogason, Sigurdsson
We say: Portugal 2-0 Iceland
The pressure is low on both teams, so it should be an open and entertaining football match. Iceland are capable of making the game difficult for Portugal, but the hosts have been too strong in this department, and we would be very surprised if they can’t make it 10 wins in a row.
To analyze data on most likely scores, scores and more for this match, please click here.
Most important tip
Our expert partners in Sporita.com They expect a draw in this match. click here To find out what else to expect for this game and to get more tried and tested football tips.Draw: data