Continuous home schedule bonus, Portugal continues to break through

Saturday 2015 World Cup European Qualifiers

[F1] Portugal VS Ireland [F4]

Time: October 12, 02:45

Facing Hungary, the strongest opponent in the group, in September, Portugal had a twists and turns 3 to 2 and narrowly missed three points. It won two consecutive games in the group stage and scored 8 goals. It was only a matter of time before it won the top spot in the group. After the UEFA Nations League reached the top again, Portugal did not slack off and continued to hit the highest goal of winning the World Cup.

In this group, Hungary and Ireland were originally opponents that could cause some trouble for Portugal. As a result, both teams started with a draw and a loss, losing points in two consecutive games. It is difficult to threaten Portugal again. Now it depends on Portugal's own stability.

In the first two rounds of the group stage, Portugal's West Asian team was the highlight. They defeated Armenia 5-0 in the first round. Riyadh's winning combination Cristiano Ronaldo and Felix both scored twice, which also partially proved what Cristiano Ronaldo said that the level of the Saudi league is world-class and is by no means just a nursing home. His view is also supported by coach Jesus. Full-back Cancelo from Riyadh Crescent completed the pass at that time. Defeating Hungary 3-2 in the second round, Ronaldo scored a penalty kick and scored the 141st goal of his national team career. Cancelo once again completed the pass and shot, and his knife attribute is strong enough. Coach Martinez made individual rotations in the frontcourt at that time, and B. Seat replaced Felix in the starting lineup. As a result, the former also completed the pass and shot, and the offensive effect was not compromised.

Portugal has a good schedule in October. The two opponents are Ireland and Hungary, but they are both home games, so there is no need to travel back and forth.

Portugal has suffered a certain loss of personnel this time. Cancelo and midfielder Joao Neves were not selected due to injuries, and the two positions need to be adjusted. Cancelo's absence will obviously have a great impact on the attack on the right, and the replacement is expected to be Manchester United's Dalot. Joao Neves and Vitinha, the golden midfield duo of Paris, have a high degree of tacit understanding, and now they have to be broken up. Palinha is the most likely to succeed Neves. After returning to the Premier League, Palinha is still in good condition. His ball production is slightly worse but his defense is better.

Ireland's team is actually pretty good. The midfield and backfield are all players from the middle and lower reaches of the Premier League. There are also good players like AZ Alkmaar forward Parrott and Roma forward Ferguson in the frontcourt, but the overall strength has always been mediocre. The team is currently led by Icelandic coach Hallgrimsson. Since taking office, he has 4 wins, 3 draws and 5 losses, and his winning rate has never been improved. Ireland's Ferencvaros defender O'Dowda and Ipswich striker Smodic have withdrawn due to injuries, and Dundee United defender Ferry has been given the opportunity to make up for his recruitment.

Ireland’s schedule this time is to play Portugal away first, and then play Armenia at home. Judging from the group situation, Ireland's realistic goal is to strive for second place in the group, and there is still a certain chance. From this perspective, it is obviously not a good idea to compete with Portugal. It is even more critical to win the game against Armenia three days later, which requires the whole team to make choices.

Since 2020, Portugal has had two home games against Ireland. The most recent warm-up match was 3-0, and the last qualifier was 2-1. It is not that long ago. Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in both games. In this game, Cristiano Ronaldo has a high chance of continuing to write an immortal goal legend.

Portugal has achieved 12 wins and 1 loss in the last 13 home games in the world preliminaries. The only upset was the 1-2 loss to Serbia. From the perspective of strength comparison and overall state, there will be no suspense in scoring three points. Of course, exceeding the 2-goal threshold also adds suspense to this game. Ireland is bound to face Portugal with a defensive counterattack. Since 2012, Ireland has played 17 World Cup qualifying games away from home, and only once has the net loss exceeded 2 goals, which was a 0-3 loss to Germany.

Sports betting and institutional data are both around 2 goals, and Portugal should be able to meet the standard.

Score reference: 3 to 0, 3 to 1