Portugal vs. Ireland 9/1/21 European World Cup Qualifications Soccer Pick, Odds, and Prediction

Portugal is hosting Ireland at Estadio Algarve in round 4 of group A of the World Cup Qualifications. Portugal has gotten through the group stage in the Euro Cup, but they lost to Belgium in the knockouts. Ireland didn’t qualify for the Euro Cup this past summer, but they are undefeated in their last 3 friendly games.

Portugal has had a tough group in the Euro Cup, and they have won only 1 game, but they somehow managed to get through the group stage. Portugal was struggling in each of their games, and even though they have beaten Hungary in round 1, it took them a while to do it. In the knockouts against Belgium, Portugal has had 57% of ball possession, 4 shots on goal, 3 corner kicks, and 89% of the correct passes. After they conceded a goal, Portugal was attacking, creating chances, but they couldn’t score a goal, and they ended up losing that game 1-0. There are few new players in Portugal’s roster for this international break, and they are mostly defenders, while Portugal’s midfield and attack have remained mostly the same. Portugal might have had a tough time in the Euro Cup, but they are a strong team with a lot of depth, and they are at the top of their group at the moment.

Ireland is still without a win in these qualifications, and they will have a tough time catching up to Portugal and Serbia. Ireland has lost both of their games, they have scored only 2 goals while conceding 4 goals. The good news for Ireland is they are undefeated in their last 4 games, but that was months ago, and we are yet to see if Ireland has kept that form. Doherty and Long are the biggest names in Ireland’s roster, but that’s about it from this team. Ireland can be a tricky team, they can certainly play well, but the lack of offense and the lack of depth is the biggest problem for them. In order for Ireland to qualify for the World Cup, they will need to win most of their games until the end of these qualifications, climb to 2^nd place, and stay there, but I just don’t see that happening.

It’s been a while since these two teams have played a game, and while Portugal has won both of their home games, Ireland has won 2 of their home games against Portugal. Sure, Portugal is at the top of group A right now, but they need to keep winning in order to stay there because Serbia is on their tail.