Portugal seeks first victory in Switzerland – Football
The Portuguese football team will try this Sunday, at the reception to Switzerland, to achieve the first victory in the third edition of the League of Nations, in the match of the second round of Group A2, after the equality in Spain (1-1).
The ‘s’ team will have an opponent around the corner who will arrive somewhat unmotivated at Estádio José Alvalade, in Lisbon, after having a surprising defeat (2-1) in Prague, against the Czech Republic.
For the second challenge in the ‘poule’, Portugal will certainly present a different ‘eleven’ from the one that was bet in Seville, given the “clearly excess” calendar, with four meetings of just 11 days, as said by the Portuguese coach, Fernando Santos .
In this way, it is expected that the coach returned to ‘captain’ Cristiano Ronaldo to the starting lineup, after being used as a substitute in Seville, a condition that the Manchester United player did not experience for the 2017 selection.
Diogo Jota, who was out of the game with Spain, will also be able to ‘jump’ directly to a starting kit, while midfielder Vítor Ferreira, who delayed the opening match because he was infected with the coronavirus, is now available from Fernando Santos.
The one scheduled for 1:45, at Estádio José Alvalval, and will be directed by the starting match Orel Grinfeld.
The Czech Republic leads Group A2, with three points, ahead of Portugal and Spain, both with one, while Switzerland occupies the last position, without points.
After the duel with Switzerland, Portugal will play again in Alvalade, on June 9th, with the Czech Republic, later going to Geneva, where they will play on Thursday, which will be the second match with the Swiss.
The Portuguese team, winner of the first edition of the League of Nations in 2019, needs to win the grouping to reach the ‘final four’ of the third edition, the second being won by France, in a final with Spain, in 2021.
The finals of the League of Nations takes place from 14 to 18 June 2023, with the winners of the four groups of League A, with the last ones of each of the groups going down to League B.