World Cup
Portugal vs Switzerland prediction
6 Dec @ 19:00
In the final game of the second round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the second tie between two nations from the same continent takes place as Portugal face Switzerland for the third time this year. I won’t be taking June’s UEFA Nations League results into account, but Portugal won 4-0 at home and Switzerland won 1-0 at home a week later, both in June.
Portugal made the knockout stages by winning Group H with a 3-2 victory over Ghana and 2-0 over Uruguay in their first two games. That allowed Fernando Santos to rotate his side for the final group fixture versus South Korea, in which they were beaten in stoppage time. Take that result with a pinch of salt.
Whilst Portugal’s first team have only had to play two games to get this far, Switzerland have had three tough games just to finish second in Group G. They were narrow 1-0 winners over Cameroon in their opener before losing by the same scoreline to Brazil in the final 10 minutes. They spent the full 90 minutes defending in that game and didn’t produce a single shot on target.
In a winner takes all match they came from behind to beat Serbia 3-2 on Friday. That means Murat Yakin’s side will have had just three days to rest and prepare for the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and co.
And you can write Portugal off at your peril. I notice they haven’t been receiving much attention or praise from the media heading into the second round. Regardless of how things ended with Manchester United, Ronaldo will still find the back of the net if you give him a chance. And with Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes playing off of him, I expect he’ll finally score a knockout stage goal versus Switzerland on Tuesday.
On top of that, left-back Raphael Guerreiro has bombed forward to create chances as has Diogo Dalot on the opposite flank. And let’s not forget about Aletico Madrid’s Joao Felix, who has been involved in the build up and testing goalkeepers himself. It’s a very solid side going forward.
Defensively I still have questions over Portugal but because I think they will dominate possession and territory in this game I think they will be fine. And if Switzerland play a cautious game then Diogo Costa in goal probably won’t be involved too much.
The bookmakers are being generous with Portugal’s odds and I fully expect them to get the job done within the 90 minutes.
Best bet: Portugal to win is 5/6 with BetFred