Portugal returns on Tuesday, after a long absence, to Glasgow where they can, at the legendary Hampden Park, “stamp” their qualification for the quarter-finals of the Football Nations League against Scotland, on the fourth day of Group A1.
Portugal’s last appearance at Hampden Park, in a ‘painful’ match, was in October 1992, with a ‘nil’ (0-0) in the qualifying phase for the 1994 World Cup in the United States, which both the Portuguese and the Scots failed to achieve.
The national team arrives in Glasgow after a triumph, and an excellent performance, in Poland, where they won 3-1, with goals from Bernardo Silva, Cristiano Ronaldo and Bednarek, an own goal.
Changes to the Portuguese team
Ronaldo has scored in every game in the Nations League so far and is looking for his fourth goal in a row in Scotland.
In the first match, at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, the Scots, coached by Steve Clarke, gave the Portuguese team a lot of trouble and even led at half-time, with a goal from Scott McTominay, but Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo turned the game around in the second half (2-1).
With only 72 hours of rest since the game in Warsaw, Roberto Martínez will make changes to the starting eleven he used against the Poles, with Vitinha almost certainly present.
The Paris Saint-Germain midfielder is likely to replace Bernardo Silva or Bruno Fernandes, who came off in injury time, with Otávio and João Neves also likely to feature in the Portuguese midfield.
In defence, Nélson Semedo is also expected to start, but it remains to be seen whether he will replace Nuno Mendes, one of the best players on the pitch against Poland, or Diogo Dalot, while the central defender duo could remain. Renato Veiga stood out in his debut alongside Rúben Neves.
In the more attacking sector, Ronaldo and Rafael Leão, who were substituted in the 60th minute, should remain in the starting line-up, with the question remaining as to who will replace Pedro Neto, who played almost the entire game in Poland.
For this position, Martínez could bet on Trincão, who was used in Warsaw, João Félix or Francisco Conceição.
Still with zero points and playing at home, Scotland must beat Portugal to still have any hope of reaching the quarter-finals or at least avoiding direct relegation to League B.
Scotland-Portugal is scheduled for Tuesday at 7:45 pm at Hampden Park in Glasgow and will be refereed by Belgian Lawrence Visser.
Portugal won the first edition of the Nations League in 2019, beating the Netherlands 1-0 in the final at the Estádio do Dragão in Porto, thanks to a goal by Gonçalo Guedes.
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