The Portuguese and Turkish national soccer teams will be fighting to move one step closer to World Cup 2022 qualification when they battle in Thursday’s playoff semi-final at the Estadio do Dragao, with kickoff at 10:45 pm.
Since Portugal fans cannot forget the name Aleksandar Mitrovic quickly enough, they faced a disappointment as the forward scored in the final minutes to send Serbia into the finals instead of them.
A goalless stalemate with Ireland three days before that 2-1 defeat proved costly in Portugal’s bid to secure a simple route to Qatar. However, with Santos’ guidance, the European champions are still at risk of failing to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1998.
The two European heavyweights will be watching on from home later this year if they fail to go through the qualifying process, meaning that at least one of them will be watching on from home later this year.
Despite earning maximum points from their last three fixtures in the group phase, Turkey could not overtake the Netherlands and finish top of Group G at the European Football Championship. The Dutch seek to appear in the World Cup finals for just a third time.
Since the Crescent-Stars crashed out of Euro 2020 without a point to their name, they haven’t lost a game.
Portugal vs. Turkey Head to Head
Both sides have two games against each other, with each side taking one win. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- Portugal 1-2 Serbia
- Ireland 0-0 Portugal
- Portugal 5-0 Luxembourg
- Portugal 3-0 Qatar
- Qatar 1-3 Portugal
Away
- Montenegro 1-2 Turkey
- Turkey 6-0 Gibraltar
- Latvia 1-2 Turkey
- Turkey 1-1 Norway
- Netherlands 6-1 Turkey
Portugal Team News
The hosts will be without the injured Joao Cancelo for the friendly in Switzerland on 25 March and suspended defender Pepe. Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Ruben Neves has been forced to withdraw because of an injury and replaced by Vitinha. The injured Anthony Lopes is set to be replaced by Jose Sa.
Turkey Team News
Visitors have no suspensions or injuries to contend with and will welcome back Mert Muldaur, who missed the Montenegro match due to a ban. He will play alongside Caglar Soyuncu and Merih Demiral in the visitors’ defense, as Burak Yilmaz shoulders the goalscoring burden at 36.
Prediction and Odds
While Turkey will take confidence from their recent spate of victories, their opponents have all been sides they should beat.
- Portugal Win
- Both Teams to Score
- Goals Under 3.5
