Portugal faces the Czech Republic on Saturday in Prague, for the penultimate game of Group A2 of the Nations League soccer, and is forbidden to lose to discuss with Spain, on Tuesday, a place in the top four.
The team led by Fernando Santos could have been at the head of the pack, but suffered a surprise defeat in Geneva, against Switzerland (1-0), and fell to second place, with seven points, one of the leaders Spain, which still has to visit Braga.
On Saturday, at the same time (19:45 in Lisbon) that Portugal faces the Czechs, third in Group A2, with four points, the Spanish host Switzerland, last in the group, with three points, in Zaragoza.
The champion of the first edition of the competition, in 2019, knows in advance that he will be out of the final phase if he loses in the capital of the Czech Republic and the ‘red’ beat the Swiss, and avoid relegation to League B if not is defeated or if Switzerland loses.
On the other hand, the Czech Republic still have a chance of reaching the final, but for that they have to beat Portugal at the Eden Arena and hope that Spain cannot achieve the same result against Switzerland.
The Czechs, who were beaten 2-0 in Lisbon on matchday three thanks to goals from João Cancelo and Gonçalo Guedes, escaped relegation with a win and defeat to Switzerland.
Despite occupying the last place in the ‘poule’, the Swiss have a remote chance of reaching the top four, but to continue dreaming they have to win in Spain and hope that Portugal cannot overtake the Czechs.
For the scheduled duel at Slavia Prague, which will have some 20,000 fans in the stands, coach Fernando Santos should not present any major surprises in the starting eleven, without the suspended João Cancelo and the injured Pepe and Raphaël Guerreiro, who make up excluded from the call.
One of the doubts has to do with the goal, since, in the first four games, in June, Diogo Costa and Rui Patrício played two games, interspersed, so either of them can be chosen to defend the ‘nets’ Portuguese. , with José Sá, who is still looking for his first internationalization with ‘AA’, with fewer chances of being chosen.
In defense, Diogo Dalot will be the main candidate to fill the vacancy at right back, along with Danilo, Rúben Dias and Nuno Mendes, while João Palhinha or Rúben Neves, Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva will be in charge of midfield.
The forward trio is very likely to remain in the hands of ‘captain’ Cristiano Ronaldo, Diogo Jota and Rafael Leão. For the Czech side, which has 20 players in the squad, the return of striker Patrick Schick (Bayer Leverkusen) stands out, who missed the first four games of the competition due to injury, and once again deserves the trust of coach Jaroslav Sihavy, as well as goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka (Werder Bremen) and midfielder Petr Sevcik (Slavia Prague).
After four games, the Portuguese occupy second place in Group A2, with seven points, after having beaten Switzerland (4-0) and the Czech Republic (2-0), in Lisbon, tied in Seville, with Spain (1- 1). ), and lost in Geneva, against the Swiss (1-0).
Spain is the leader of the ‘poule’, with eight points, while the Czech Republic is third, with four, and Switzerland is last, with three.
The match between the Czechs and the Portuguese starts at 19:45 (Lisbon time), at the Eden Arena, and will be refereed by Serbian Srdjan Jovanovic.
The “quinas” team, winner of the first edition of the League of Nations, in 2019, needs to win the group to reach the “final four” of the third edition, the second won by France, in a final with Spain, in 2021.
The four winners of the League A group qualify for the final, which includes the semi-finals, the final and the match for third place. The ‘final four’ of the third edition of the race will be held in June 2023.
Source: TSF
