Portugal vs Sweden

Estádio D. Afonso Henriques sets the stage for an exciting international friendly between Portugal and Sweden.

Portugal went from strength to strength in 2023, winning all ten matches en route to their first-ever flawless European Championship qualification campaign. New manager Roberto Martinez boasts a 100% win ratio since replacing long-serving boss Fernando Santos in the dugout after Portugal’s underwhelming 2022 World Cup exit. He’ll be looking to maintain that trend, especially after seeing his high-performing side net 36 goals across those ten triumphs and concede just two in return. Portugal’s impressive H2H record against Sweden will add to Martinez’s confidence, with the Selecao winning four of the last five clashes between the teams (L1), including a thumping 3-0 victory in their most recent encounter in October 2020.

Meanwhile, after failing to qualify for Euro 2024, long-serving manager Janne Andersson parted ways with Sweden, with Jon Dahl Tomasson taking his place at the helm. Andersson bowed out in style, inspiring the Swedes to back-to-back wins against Estonia. However, that has barely improved Sweden’s image after only winning three of their eight Euro 2024 qualifying matches (D1, L4). As the country’s first-ever foreign coach, Tomasson has a point to prove. Leading the Blagult to their third successive win for the first time since January 2023 would be a perfect start. However, Sweden’s last win against a side from FIFA’s top ten came in September 2021, courtesy of a 2-1 triumph against Spain.