When Portugal and Liechtenstein face off on Thursday in Lisbon, their respective Euro 2024 qualification campaigns will begin.
Team Form
Portugal
Portugal’s national football team is set to begin a new era under the guidance of Roberto Martinez following the departure of their previous manager, Fernando Santos.
Despite the team’s success at Euro 2016, their subsequent performances in major tournaments have been lackluster. Portugal exited the 2018 World Cup at the round of 16 stages before suffering a similar fate at Euro 2020.
Their recent defeat to Morocco in the quarter-finals of the World Cup 2022 was seen as yet another failure for a squad that boasts several talented players.
With Portugal having lost four of their last nine games under Santos, there is no doubt that a significant improvement is needed. The team also struggled in World Cup qualifying, highlighting the need for a change in approach.
Portugal Form (All Competition): W W L W L
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein’s football team had a dismal showing in the last edition of the UEFA Nations League, finishing last in League D with no points to their name.
The team suffered defeats home and away to Andorra, Latvia, and Moldova, scoring just one goal throughout the tournament. Their performance was so poor that they were outdone by San Marino, who finished ahead of them in their group.
The team’s recent form has also been concerning, with a defeat to Gibraltar, a 6-0 thrashing by Cape Verde, and a humiliating 9-0 loss to Germany, the last time they faced a side ranked in the world’s top 50.
As a result, Liechtenstein’s current world ranking is their lowest ever at 198th, and they have yet to win a game in 13 attempts, losing 11 of those matches.
Liechtenstein Form (All Competitions): L L L L L
Portugal’s expected starting lineup:
Diogo Costa; Cancelo, Danilo, Antonio Silva, Guerreiro; Ruben Neves, Bernardo Silva, Fernandes; Joao Felix, Ronaldo, Rafael Leao
Liechtenstein’s expected starting lineup:
Buchel; Yildiz, S Wolfinger, M Wolfinger, Hofer, Traber; Hasler, Sele, Luchinger, Weiser; Frick
Head to Head
So far, Portugal and Liechtenstein have faced each other on three occasions. Out of those three matches, Portugal emerged victorious in two of them.
The remaining match between the two teams ended in a draw.
Time, Date & Venue
Date: Thursday, March 23
Time: 07:45 pm UTC
Venue: José Alvalade stadium, Lisbon
Prediction
There is an apparent disparity between the top and bottom-seeded teams in the upcoming Group J match. Based on their respective performances, the game is heavily tilted in favor of Portugal.
