On Tuesday, December 6, in Lusail, at the Lusail Iconic Stadium, the 1/8 final match of the 2022 World Cup will take place, in which Portugal and Switzerland will play. The starting whistle of Mexican referee Cesar Arturo Ramos Palazuelos from Culiacan will sound at 21:00 Kyiv time.
Portugal
The Portuguese national team at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar started immediately from a high start, beating Ghana in a spectacular duel with intrigue until the last seconds (3:2), after which, after the victory over Uruguay in the second round (2:0), it became obvious that that the first place in the H quartet will definitely not go anywhere from the “European Selesao”. At the same time, the team of Fernando Santos was well aware that the final second line would cost her the need to confront Brazil, and what the Pentacampeons can do with their rivals in the current conditions is now well known to South Korea, which sensationally beat the Crusaders in the last round (2 :one).
Despite the result achieved, the Portuguese did not show ambitions to win the World Cup directly on the football field. Santos’ team, despite having a stellar lineup in the attacking line, still experienced its inherent implementation problems. At the same time, the conflict around Cristiano Ronaldo, which accompanied the beginning of the World Cup, at the moment does not make itself felt at all in terms of the results of the team’s performances. This achievement can also be attributed to the positive results of the work of the coaching staff. The lack of motivation against the backdrop of not the most status and optimal rivals in terms of condition motivated Portugal not to spend extra energy on achieving results in the group stage, but now Cristiano and the company have no right to make a mistake.
Switzerland
The unconditional support from the Ukrainian fans for the Swiss national team in their final match in the group stage against Serbia eventually played into the hands of Nati (3: 2), although several times the teams almost slipped into hand-to-hand confrontation in a political duel. This result was key for Murat Yakin’s team in terms of fighting for the second place immediately after Brazil, which they still lost during the full-time confrontation (0:1). It should also not be forgotten that the tournament for the country began with a difficult victory over Cameroon (1:0), so the factor of the total load on the players may not shoot at the most opportune moment.
What I liked about the game of Switzerland during this time is the absence of a pronounced leader of the team, while this role is alternately transferred between all the players on the team. Against Serbia, for example, Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri predictably fired up, although Djibril Sow performed well against the Brazilians, and Briel Embolo brought victory over the African team. Interestingly, in just one match against the Serbs, the Swiss made more shots on goal than in the two previous games combined, despite the fact that they did not hit the target at all against the Pentacampeons. This tells us the low block tactics that Yaquin’s team can choose in the upcoming game, and which already allowed them to beat Portugal at home in June this year (1-0).
Estimated compositions
Portugal: Costa – Canselu, Dias, Pepe, Dalot – Carvalho, Neves, B. Silva – B. Fernandes – Ronaldo, Felix.
Switzerland: Sommer – Rodriguez, Cher, Akanji, Widmer – Xhaka, Freuler – Vargas, Sow, Shaqiri – Embolo.
Will not play: Danilu, Mendes – …
Forecast for confrontation
We believe that in the upcoming match the strongest will be determined only in extra time. Our bet will be the position – The winner of the match will be determined in extra time with a coefficient of 6.60 on the Parimatch line.
December 6, Tuesday
