Portugal vs Switzerland – Can Portugal win to move smoothly into the Quarter Finals?
Portugal meet Switzerland at the Lusail Stadium at 7PM (UK) tomorrow.
The last time that Portugal met Switzerland was in the UEFA Nations League earlier this year. There were two different outcomes, Portugal won 4-0 in Lisbon and a few days later, Switzerland won 1-0 in Geneva.
Fernando Santos’s side started their World Cup well, beating Ghana and Uruguay last Monday, and performances show they could go far in this tournament.
On the other hand, Switzerland beat Cameroon and Serbia but lost against Brazil.
Switzerland have got a squad that is well versed which comes in flows, however, they surely fancy their chances tomorrow.
Injuiries are becoming an issue for Portugal, with Nuno Mendes out for the rest of the World Cup and Danilo Pereira unavailable. Otavio has been out injured, however he should be fit to play.
Whereas Switzerland probably won’t change much. However, Yann Sommer is fully fit, and Gregor Kobel will almost certainly return. The Swiss goalkeeper missed the last game so it isn’t clear whether he will start tomorrow.
The Red Crosses will be looking to Xherdan Shaqiri to supply moments of magic, in what may well prove to be a tight game.
Portugal have got some excellent players, however, Fernando Santos said he ‘really didn’t like’ Cristiano Ronaldo’s reaction to being substituted in the World Cup defeat by South Korea.
Cristiano Ronaldo is well used to dealing with criticism. However, it will not affect his determination to have a huge impact on the result.
Switzerland have reached the quatar finals three times, however in the three out of the four World Cups they have been knocked out in this stage.
Portugal are favourites to win the match, but you never know what will happen, especially in this World Cup.
If either side win tomorrow, they face Spain or Morocco in the quarterfinals. If Portugal meet Spain, it will be a tantalizing fixture for the neighbouring rivals.
