Portugal aim to regain control of Group A


Image copyright: Getty Images

 

2022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Group Stage fixture 

Ireland vs Portugal 

Aviva Stadium 
Dublin, Ireland 
Thursday, 11 November 2021
Kick-off is at 20:45 
 
Portugal will be aiming to climb back to the summit of Group A with victory over the Republic of Ireland in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Thursday. 

Fernando Santos
Image copyright: Getty Images

 
A Selecao head into back-to-back matches against Ireland (away) and Serbia (home) trailing the latter by a single point but having played a game less. As a result, Portugal only need to win one of their two remaining matches to ensure automatic qualification for next year's World Cup in Qatar. 
 
Ireland have already been elimianted from contention but came very close to beating Portugal in Faro earlier this year. The visitors looked on course for a famous win but Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up with a quick-fire brace in the dying minutes of the match to deny the Irish. 

"He's probably one of, if not the only, player in world football that could have scored those two goals. We know what a special player he is," Ireland midfielder, Josh Cullen, told Sky Sports News. 

Josh Cullen
Image copyright: Getty Images
 

"Yes, we managed to do it for 89 minutes, but we would have much preferred to have done it for 95 or whatever it was in the end, and that's what we'll be looking to do on Thursday night.

"We can take a lot of encouragement from the performance we put in out there and we'll be looking to do a similar job on Thursday night, but turn a good performance into a good result as well," he added. 
 

Ireland vs Portugal head-to-head statistics: 

 
Matches: 14
Ireland wins: 4
Portugal wins: 8
Draws: 2


Sign up at Betway and enjoy solid action & heart-racing thrills when you bet on soccer
 
Bet on Football with Betway

For all the latest sports news, betting tips and promotions follow Betway on Facebook, TwitterInstagram and YouTubeDownload the Betway App
 
 

Published: 11/09/2021