Portugal and Switzerland are two teams who have yet to prove something in the World Cup as both did not get any title yet. As they battle in the last 16, their goal is to book a ticket to the quarterfinals, and finally reach the top which is the finals. During their group stage, both ended their groups with two wins from three. However, Portugal ended as the group winners while Switzerland are the runners-up from their group. As these two shares a different fortune in their final group match, they now contest for a spot in the quarterfinals. Their meeting will be on December 7, 2022, at 3:00 AM (GMT+8).
This year alone, these two teams already met twice in the Nations League, squaring off their match with one win each. This is also what happen in their last six matches where these two teams won three games each. Portugal only reached the quarterfinals twice in 1966 and 2006, which is why they are hungry to finally reach that stage again. Switzerland on the other hand never won more than two games in the World Cup. They could rewrite their history if they win against Portugal.
Portugal is hungrier than ever to reach the quarterfinals
Portugal only reached the quarterfinals twice, their last in 2006, despite the dominance of Cristiano Ronaldo in football. Right now, this team looks like a team who has revamped and more powerful. They won their group stage with two wins and one loss in their three games. Moreover, they scored six goals in their group, with their attackers expected to produce well in this match. In their final group stage, they fell short against South Korea, but it is because their starters were opted to sit in that match.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s performance plays a big role for the current success of Portugal, but recently, his form in goals is a major concern for them. Luckily, there are still guys who can produce goals for them, if Ronaldo is not playing well.
Switzerland eyes history with a win in this game
They had a spectacular 3-2 win over Serbia in their last game, qualifying for the knockout stage. They are also hungry going into this game, as they last qualified for the quarter-finals in 1958. Portugal is a team better than them talent-wise, but once they give their all, it is not impossible for them to eliminate Portugal. They are capable of pulling off surprises as they can beat giant teams in the competition. In fact, they were able to beat France in the 2020 Euro, so it is not impossible to win in this match.
They are hoping that Yann Sommer can return in time for this match as he will definitely play a big role in their campaign. Aside from him, there are no other fresh concerns from this team, and are expected to be unchanged.
Prediction:
Portugal (2.5)
Odds: 0.99
Ready to play?
You may place your bets for the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match between Portugal and Switzerland at Nova88, Asia’s largest and most trusted Online Casino Malaysia. Join and play now!
