Ireland vs Portugal prediction: EUROPE: World Cup – Qualification betting tips on match 2025-11-12 19:45.
[p]Republic of Ireland maintain control of their own fate in Group F of World Cup qualification (WCQ), as they welcome a Portugal side who have all but booked their ticket.[/p]
[p]Match News and Current Form[/p]
[p]Third in the group with four points to their name after as many games, things could arguably be worse for Ireland ahead of their final two games. Sitting one point behind Hungary, Heimir HallgrĂmsson’s side must match or better their result in order to take their qualification quest to the final day. Anything other than Ireland’s WCQ failure here would surprise given that Hungary and Portugal both enter their games as odds-on favourites. The Irish can at least take heart from their five-game unbeaten run in Dublin-held internationals (W3, D2), although their last visit from a top-five ranked nation, England, ended in a 2-0 defeat. [/p]
[p]Ranked fifth by FIFA, Portugal’s pathway into the World Cup finals will be complete with a win here, which would represent their seventh consecutive qualification. Achieving such an outcome is testament to Portugal’s togetherness in the wake of Diogo Jota’s untimely passing prior to this WCQ cycle (W3, D1). Those unbeaten games form part of a run of just one defeat across their last 16 games (W9, D6 after 90 minutes), and with Roberto MartĂnez’s side having scored eight goals in their two away WCQ games in this campaign (W2), only the brave would back against them securing the win they need to secure their finals berth here. [/p]
[p]Head-to-Head History[/p]
[p]Portugal hold a notable advantage after 17 prior internationals between these nations (W10, D3, L4). Despite that dominance, Ireland have never lost a home H2H in a major tournament qualifier (W1, D2). [/p]
[p]Hot Stats and Streaks[/p]
[p]None of Ireland’s eight internationals in 2025 have been settled by more than a single-goal margin.[/p]
[p]Seven of the nine goals in Ireland’s WCQ games this cycle arrived after the 40th minute. [/p]
[p]Portugal have kept just three clean sheets across their last 14 matches.[/p]
[p]Four of Portugal’s last five internationals saw at least two first-half goals scored. [/p]
[p]Key Players to Watch and Missing Players[/p]
[p]Ireland’s Troy Parrott is having a fine season for AZ Alkmaar after scoring 13 goals in 14 appearances, with his last three coming before half-time. Portugal’s Rúben Neves proved the difference with a stoppage-time winner in the reverse, which was incredibly the midfielder’s first Portugal goal since making his debut in 2015. [/p]
[p]Ireland’s Evan Ferguson will miss this match due to an ankle injury, while Portugal’s João Neves is also called up despite recent muscular issues. [/p]
[p]For all the latest team news, please check the Flashscore match centre.[/p]
[p]Betting Analysis[/p]
[p]Given Ireland’s resilience at home and the magnitude of the occasion, there could be value in backing Ireland/Draw in the double chance market.[/p]
[p][i]Author: Matthew Billon[/i][/p]