Portugal vs Switzerland

Estádio José Alvalade forms the backdrop for an intriguing UEFA Nations League Group A2 showdown between Portugal and Switzerland.

Winners of the maiden UEFA Nations League season, Portugal fought back from a 1-0 half-time deficit to hold Iberian neighbours Spain to a 1-1 draw in their section curtain-raiser. The bookmakers see Portugal as odds-on favourites, even though only six places divide the nations in FIFA’s current rankings. A record of four wins from five Nations League home matches (D1) explains Portugal’s pre-game billing. Furthermore, Fernando Santos’ men have won their last two competitive home outings by a two-goal margin after scoring the opener within 32 minutes. Estádio José Alvalade has been a lucky charm for the ‘Selecao,’ as they’ve racked up an eye-catching 58% win ratio across their last 14 matches here (W7, D3, L2). Moreover, they’ve won both previous competitive H2Hs by a two-goal margin.

All that puts Switzerland in an awkward position, as the visitors hope to bounce back from an underwhelming 2-1 defeat at the Czech Republic last time out. It’s been a troublesome start to 2022 for the Swiss, with no win from three internationals this calendar year (D1, L2) continuing to pile the pressure on head coach Murat Yakin. Keen to avenge a 3-1 defeat in the 2018/19 Nations League semi-finals, the ‘Nati’ head to Lisbon having won just one of their five away matches since Euro 2020 (D2, L2). But with their last three internationals on foreign soil seeing both teams on the scoresheet, action could be back and forth at the Estádio José Alvalade.