On Tuesday night, Portugal and Switzerland go head-to-head at the Lusail Iconic Stadium in the first knockout round of World Cup 2022.
Portugal form guideFernando Santos’ team won their opening two group games against Ghana and Uruguay in a pretty convincing manner. However, with the Selecao already qualified for the last 16, they suffered a late 2-1 defeat against South Korea in their final group game.
The defeat last time out ended a prolific run of scoring form for Portugal of late, as they had scored at least two goals in their three previous international games.
Despite the two wins in the group stages, Portugal has still won just two of their last five matches at the World Cup. Their recent matches have also been relatively high-scoring, with over 2.5 goals scored in seven of their last ten games in the competition.
Switzerland form guideMurat Zakin’s team finished as runners-up in Group G, level on points with World Cup favourites Brazil. Switzerland kicked off their World Cup campaign against Cameroon with a 1-0 victory before a 1-0 defeat against Brazil and a 3-2 win over Serbia in their final group game, a result that sealed their qualification for the knockout stages.
That all-important win last time out means that Switzerland has now won five of their last seven international games. However, they have an inconsistent recent record at the World Cup, having won just three of their last eight games in the competition.
Team newsPortugal are expected to be without full-back Nuno Mendes through injury, while Otavio and Danilo Pereira are also fitness doubts for this clash. Switzerland has fitness doubts over midfielder Renato Steffen.
What am I backing?This game could be a close one, but I am backing Portugal to progress to the quarter-finals as they have the better individual quality in their team.
