World Cup Preview: Portugal will advance to the World Cup if they win, Ireland will fight against the odds
6686 Sports News on November 13th, Beijing time at 3:45 am on the 14th, in the fifth round of Group F of the European Qualifying Tournament of the World Cup, Ireland will sit in Dublin, and the home team will face Portugal.
The situation of this group
In Group F, Portugal ranks first in the group with 10 points, Hungary ranks second with 5 points, Ireland ranks third with 4 points, and Armenia ranks last with 3 points.
Portugal has secured the top two spots in the group. If Portugal can defeat Ireland in this round, it will definitely ensure the top spot in the group. Alternatively, if Portugal is undefeated, it may also secure the top spot due to the result of another game. If Ireland loses to Portugal and Hungary defeats Armenia, Ireland will lose its hope of becoming the top two.
Recent Home Team
Ireland is currently ranked 62nd in the world. At the turn of the century, the team participated in the World Cup three times (1990, 1994, 2002), and reached the knockout rounds in all three entries (two top 16s, one top 8). However, since the 2006 World Cup, the Irish team has failed to qualify for five consecutive World Cup preliminaries (two of which were eliminated in the play-offs).
In the first three rounds of the World European Qualifications, Ireland had 1 draw and 2 losses without a win. In the last round, the team defeated Armenia 1-0, which boosted their morale. At the same time, the Irish home team is in good competitive form. From November 2024 to the present, for a period of one year, the Irish home team has remained unbeaten with 3 wins and 2 draws in 5 games.
Before the game, Ireland midfielder Cullen said that Ireland is not afraid of opponents: "I think we can draw a lot of confidence from the away game against Portugal last month. We can limit the attack of a world-class team until the last moment. But we must go further, not only to limit the opponent, but also to make a difference on the offensive end."
The visiting team’s recent situation
The Portuguese team is ranked fifth in the world. Starting from the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, the Portuguese team has participated in the main matches of 6 World Cups. They are now only one win away from participating in the 7th consecutive competition. Since the current World European Qualifiers, the Portuguese team has 3 wins and 1 draw in 4 group matches, scoring 10 goals, including 5 goals by Cristiano Ronaldo, and is in excellent competitive form.
Before the game, Ronaldo admitted: "The 2026 World Cup will be the last World Cup I participate in. I will be 41 years old by then. But now I work hard to enjoy the moment. I am 40 years old and want to cherish every moment." UEFA pointed out that during Martinez's coaching period in Portugal During this period, Ronaldo played 29 games for the Portuguese team, scoring 25 goals, with an average goal efficiency of 0.86 goals per game, exceeding his performance during the coaching period of previous national team coaches such as Scolari (0.36), Queiroz (0.11), Bento (0.71), and Santos (0.83).
Match results
The two teams have met 17 times in international A-level matches. Ireland has 4 wins, 3 draws and 10 losses, scoring 11 goals and conceding 26 goals, falling behind. The last time Ireland defeated Portugal was in 2005. In the past 20 years, the two teams have met 5 times, and Portugal has 4 wins and 1 draw and remains unbeaten.
Injury situation
Ireland defender Manning, who plays for Southampton, is suspended, and Skies, who plays for Bristol City, and Zmodidis of Ipswich are injured. For the Portuguese team, Chelsea star Neto and Sporting CP midfielder Goncalves are injured.
