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[monks data]
Portugal national football team
Euro Champ Qualifying | Group Stage
Oct 13, 2023 at 7.45pm UK
Estadio Do Dragao
Slovakia national football team

Portugal
3 - 2
Slovakia

Ramos (18'), Ronaldo (29' pen., 72')
Fernandes (57'), Palhinha (75')
FT(HT: 2-0)
Hancko (69'), Lobotka (80')
Pekarik (31'), Duda (61'), Suslov (85'), Hrosovsky (90+4'), Gyomber (90+4')

Preview: Portugal vs. Slovakia - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Friday's European Championship qualifying clash between Portugal and Slovakia, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Portugal will welcome Slovakia on Friday evening knowing that a victory would see them secure their spot in next summer's European Championship finals with three games to spare.

An excellent campaign to date has left Roberto Martinez's side at the top of Group J on 18 points, while Slovakia are second in the section, picking up 13 points from their opening six matches.


Match preview

Portugal coach Roberto Martinez before the match on September 8, 2023© Reuters

Portugal have not missed a step in Group J, posting six wins out of six, which has left them comfortably at the top of the table, boasting 18 points, five clear of second-placed Slovakia and crucially eight ahead of third-placed Luxembourg on the same number of games.

It is simple for Martinez's side; a win would guarantee their spot at Euro 2024 with three games in hand, while a draw would be enough if Luxembourg fail to beat Iceland, with the fixture also taking place on Friday.

Portugal will enter this match off the back of a stunning 9-0 win over Luxembourg last month, with Goncalo Inacio, Goncalo Ramos and Diogo Jota all scoring braces in the Group J fixture.

The Iberian side are unbeaten since their famous 1-0 loss to Morocco in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup, and they look well-placed to be a major challenger for next summer's European Championship, with the national side looking to repeat their success from the 2016 tournament.

Portugal have never lost to Slovakia, winning four of the last five meetings between the two sides, including a 1-0 success in the reverse match last month, with Bruno Fernandes netting the winner.

Slovakia coach Francesco Calzona reacts on September 11, 2023© Reuters

Slovakia are well-placed in the section, sitting second on 13 points, boasting a record of four wins, one draw and one defeat, and they have only actually conceded twice in Group J.

Francesco Calzona's side drew their opening match in the section at home to Luxembourg, which was a surprise, but they beat Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iceland and Liechtenstein in their next three before losing 1-0 at home to Portugal on September 8.

Slovakia were back to winning ways three days later, though, recording a 3-0 victory over Liechtenstein, with the home side scoring three times in the first six matches of that contest.

The Falcons have been present in three major tournaments, competing at the World Cup in 2010, in addition to the European Championship in 2016 and 2020.

Slovakia actually made the last-16 stage of Euro 2016 but were knocked out in the group stage of the 2020 competition, while they failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Portugal Euro Champ Qualifying form:

Slovakia Euro Champ Qualifying form:


Team News

Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo reacts on September 19, 2023© Reuters

Portugal boss Martinez has included teenager Joao Neves in his latest squad, and the in-demand midfielder will hope to be given the opportunity to impress during the team's next two games.

Cristiano Ronaldo's international career looked to be in a difficult place after the last World Cup, but Martinez quickly made it clear that the 38-year-old was central to his plans.

There should be a start at centre-forward for Ronaldo, who was suspended last time out, while Bernardo Silva will also be in the XI, with Jota potentially given the nod on the opposite side over Rafael Leao.

Antonio Silva will continue in the middle of the defence, while Vitinha should feature alongside Fernandes and Joao Palhinha in the middle of midfield.

As for Slovakia, Robert Mak is the leading goalscorer in the squad with 16, and the 32-year-old is expected to feature in the final third of the field on Friday night.

Michal Tomic could again be given the nod at right-back, while Milan Skriniar will again captain the national side from the middle of the defence.

There are not expected to be any surprises when it comes to the midfield, with Ondrej Duda and Stanislav Lobotka set to be joined by Laszlo Benes, who won his 15th cap against Liechtenstein last time out.


Portugal possible starting lineup:
D. Costa; Dalot, A. Silva, Dias, Cancelo; Vitinha, Palhinha, Fernandes; B. Silva, Ronaldo, Jota

Slovakia possible starting lineup:
Dubravka; Tomic, Gyomber, Skriniar, Hancko; Duda, Lobotka, Benes; Mak, Bozenik, Haraslin


SM words green background

We say: Portugal 2-0 Slovakia

Slovakia are a national team to be respected, and they are more than capable of picking up a strong result on Friday evening. Portugal are on a roll at the moment, though, and we are expecting Martinez's side to make it seven wins from seven in the section courtesy of a comfortable victory.



For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


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Game History

How you voted: Portugal vs Slovakia

Portugal
91.0%
Draw
6.7%
Slovakia
2.2%
134
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Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Cyprus Cyprus00000
2 Georgia Georgia00000
3 Norway Norway00000
Q Scotland flag Scotland00000
Q Spain Spain00000

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France00000
2 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar00000
3 Greece Greece00000
Q Netherlands Netherlands00000
5 Ireland Rep. Ireland00000

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England00000
Q Italy Italy00000
3 Malta flag Malta00000
4 Macedonia N. Macedonia00000
5 Ukraine Ukraine00000

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Armenia Armenia00000
Q Croatia Croatia00000
3 Latvia Latvia00000
Q Turkey Turkey00000
5 Wales flag Wales00000

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Albania national flag Albania00000
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic00000
3 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands00000
4 Republic of Moldova Moldova00000
5 Poland Poland00000

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Austria Austria00000
2 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan00000
Q Belgium Belgium00000
4 Estonia Estonia00000
5 Sweden Sweden00000

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Bulgaria Bulgaria00000
Q Hungary Hungary00000
3 Lithuania Lithuania00000
4 Montenegro Montenegro00000
Q Serbia Serbia00000

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Denmark Denmark00000
2 Finland Finland00000
3 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan00000
4 Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland00000
5 San Marino flag San Marino00000
Q Slovenia Slovenia00000

Group I

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Andorra flag Andorra00000
2 Belarus Belarus00000
3 Israel Israel00000
4 Kosovo flag Kosovo00000
Q Romania Romania00000
Q Switzerland Switzerland00000

Group J

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina00000
2 Iceland Iceland00000
3 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein00000
4 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg00000
Q Portugal Portugal00000
Q Slovakia Slovakia00000


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