Portugal will take on Croatia at Estadio da Luz for their opening UEFA Nations League contest, looking to get back to winning ways.
Portugal are the top dogs in the UEFA Nations League A Group 1, and they will be desperate for a win when they welcome Croatia to Estadio da Luz on Thursday. The Seleccao will certainly fancy their chances, and it will be interesting to see who comes out on top.
Portugal will be disappointed with the way their UEFA Euro 2024 campaign ended, and they will look to win a major trophy soon. The last two meetings between these two sides in the UEFA Nations League were packed with goals, and this one could be another entertaining affair.
Meanwhile, Croatia had a disappointing campaign at the European Championships as well, and they will need to be at their best to grind out a positive result here. They cannot afford to be complacent against a talented Portuguese unit.
Luka Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo will undoubtedly be the centre of attention here, but both teams have a lot more to offer, and this could be a crunch clash between the two heavyweights. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the upcoming meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Portugal
Portugal do not have any major injury issues heading into the game against Croatia, and they should be able to field a full-strength squad here. However, Roberto Martinez has made a few changes to his squad, dropping Joao Cancelo, Danilo Pereira and Francisco Conceicao.
Meanwhile, Pedro Goncalves, Francisco Trincao and goalkeeper Rui Silva are all back in the squad for the latest international break. Portugal are likely to shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Diogo Costa in goal.
With Joao Cancelo not in the squad, Diogo Dalot will start as the right-back. Meanwhile, Nuno Mendes should take his spot on the opposite flank. The duo will look to contribute at both ends of the pitch. Ruben Dias will start alongside Goncalo Inacio at the heart of the defence.
Joao Neves is likely to start alongside Ruben Neves in the middle of the park. The two players will look to control the tempo of the game from the deep and provide defensive cover to the midfield. Bruno Fernandes will feature in the attacking midfield role, with Bernardo Silva and Raphael Leao on either side of him. Cristiano Ronaldo will lead the line for Portugal.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Costa; Dalot, Dias, Inacio, Mendes; Ruben Neves, Joao Neves; Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Leao; Ronaldo
Croatia
The visitors will be without the services of Lovro Majer, Josip Stanisic, and Martin Erlic due to injury. Meanwhile, Domagoj Vida and Marcelo Brozovic have called time on their respective careers after UEFA Euro 2024.
Croatia are likely to shape up in a 4-3-3 formation against Portugal, with Dominik Livakovic in goal. Marin Pongracic and Borna Sosa will start as the full-backs here, and they will look to protect the central defenders and help out in the attack. Josip Sutalo will start alongside Josko Gvardiol at the heart of the defence.
Luka Sucic will start as the defensive midfielder and he will look to break up opposition attacks. Luka Modric and Mateo Kovacic will add creativity and control alongside him. Ante Budimir will lead the line for Croatia, with Mario Pasalic and Andrej Kramaric on the flanks.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Livakovic; Pongracic, Sutalo, Gvardiol, Sosa; Modric, Sucic, Kovacic; Pasalic, Budimir, Kramaric
Key Stats
- Portugal are unbeaten in five of their last six matches against Croatia.
- Portugal beat Croatia 3-2 in the last Nations League match, the last time they met in a competitive fixture, which saw four goals scored in the second half.
- 17 goals have been scored in the last six meetings between these two sides.
- Both teams have scored in each of the four of the last five meetings between the two sides.
- In the last three matches, there have been at least three goals, with two of those fixtures producing five goals.
Player to Watch
Cristiano Ronaldo
The Portugal captain was heavily criticised for his performances at the European Championships, and he will look to showcase his quality at the international level once again. He remains a top-class player with extensive experience of competing at the highest level, and he will look to make his mark in this game.
Portugal vs Croatia matches are often packed with goals, and Ronaldo could get ample opportunities to get on the score sheet here. The veteran attacker is our key to watch out for, and he could punish the Croatian defence with his clinical finishing.
Prediction
Portugal 2-1 Croatia
Both teams are capable of winning the game here, and this is likely to be a close contest. Neither side will sit back and defend, and this could be an open game with a fair few chances. Both team are likely to get on the score sheet, but Portugal are the better team in theory and they should be able to come out on top against Croatia. A narrow win for the home team is on the cards.