Portugal vs Iceland prediction: EUROPE: Euro – Qualification betting tips on match 2023-11-18 19:45.
Portugal have proved to be the irresistible force of UEFA European championship qualifying (ECQ), maintaining their 100% winning record by beating Liechtenstein on Thursday. Roberto MartĂnez’s men flattered to deceive in that 2-0 success however, with the Spaniard’s decision to select such an attacking line-up ultimately leading to a disjointed performance in Vaduz.
Qualification for Germany was secured last month regardless, and with eight of Portugal’s nine victories accompanied by a clean sheet, there’s been very little for the Portuguese fans to complain about. The challenge now is to make it a perfect ten and win every one of their ECQ matches for the first time ever, and as they have only lost one ECQ game on home soil this century (W17, D6), they have every reason to be confident.
Visitors Iceland therefore face one of the toughest challenges in international football when they travel to Lisbon, especially as they’ve lost all of the previous three ECQ H2Hs, conceding nine goals in the process. Automatic qualification to next summer’s finals is already out of reach for Åge Hareide’s side, but they could have a second chance in the play-offs in the spring thanks to their UEFA Nations League exploits.
The Euros is where the Icelandic national team had one of their finest moments in 2016 – and it’s also the only time they have avoided defeat in a meeting with Portugal (D 1-1). That said, the chances of a repeat look unlikely given that Iceland have conceded 3+ goals in three of their last four ECQ away games, including a bruising 4-2 reverse to Slovakia on Thursday.
Players to watch: Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has excelled for his country in this ECQ campaign, directly contributing to 13 goals in nine appearances (G5, A8). Teenage forward Orri Ă“skarsson is quickly establishing himself as a key player for Iceland, having netted twice in five ECQ matches.
Hot stat: Portugal have scored exactly two first-half goals per game in this ECQ cycle.