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#3 Ireland to play a spirited game at home
Stephen Kenny’s Republic of Ireland were looking to make it to their first World Cup since 2002. Unfortunately, they could not portray their hopes and ambitions clearly on the football pitch.
It took them six attempts to pick up their first win of their 2022 World Cup Qualifying campaign, which came against Azerbaijan on matchday six. The 3-0 win was impressive, but not enough to get their campaign back on track.
They backed up their success over Azerbaijan with a 4-0 friendly win against Qatar, extending their unbeaten run to four matches in all competitions. Portugal were the last team to beat Ireland, but the win was far from convincing.
Cristiano Ronaldo rose to the occasion in the dying minutes of the match to deny Ireland all three points, breaking the hearts of Irish supporters. At home, Ireland will look to settle the score by playing engaging football without losing their shape.
With any luck, they could end up dampening Portugal’s spirits ahead of their Group A decider against Serbia.
#2 Joao Felix to shine alongside Cristiano Ronaldo
In the reverse fixture, Portugal skipper Cristiano Ronaldo scored a match-winning brace to steal the game away from Ireland. When push comes to shove, Portugal have always been able to depend on their talisman, and they will do so again on Thursday night.
Joao Felix, on the other hand, has not yet been able to establish himself as one of the most promising youngsters in the world. For Portugal, he is still a benchwarmer, waiting on the wings to have his shot. On Thursday, he might finally have it.
With Bernardo Silva ruled out of the game with a muscle injury, Felix is expected to start on the right flank and contribute to Portugal’s attack. An impressive performance could put him back on the map and we are backing him to do something memorable at the Aviva Stadium on Thursday.
#1 Portugal to reclaim top spot in Group A
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal failed to defend their Euro crown in the summer, but they are unlikely to have trouble in the World Cup Qualifiers. With five wins and a draw in six games, they are a point behind leaders Serbia. A win against Ireland would put Portugal back on top, setting up a cracking contest with Serbia on matchday eight.
Portugal have not visited Ireland since 2005, which ended in a 1-0 defeat for the visitors. Overall, they have only won once in their last four visits, with the friendly win coming way back in 1996. However, the gulf in quality has only increased over the years, and we expect Thursday’s fixture to reflect that.
We predict a closely-contested 1-2 win for Portugal in their seventh 2022 World Cup Qualifying Group A fixture against Ireland.
