A spirited Luxembourg side lock horns with a confident Portugal side in the World Cup 2022 qualifiers. Luxembourg scripted a historic 1-0 win over the Republic of Ireland while Portugal were left protesting after a goal was denied in a 2-2 draw with Serbia.
Preview
Luxembourg will hope to continue their fantastic start to the World Cup 2022 qualifying campaign against Portugal on Wednesday. The Red Lions pulled off a shock victory over Republic of Ireland in their first-round fixture at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
Ireland started the game on a positive note with constant crosses from both the sides of the field. Stephen Kenny’s side saw an excellent team move with Enda Stevens releasing Callum Robinson, who found James Collins in the box who failed to beat Luxembourg’s Anthony Moris at the goal. Ireland consistently looked like a threatening side, but Luxembourg’s defensive resilience saw both teams enter the half time goalless.
Luxembourg’s first real chance was when Rodrigues found Bazunu with a lobbed pass, but the Irish goalkeeper made an important save. Ireland piled up almost all of their men upfront in the later stages of the second half but never managed to split open the Luxembourg defence.
A long ball eventually fell to Rodrigues, whose shot from outside the box nestled into the bottom corner to give Luxembourg the unlikely lead with minutes left on the clock.
Portugal come into the fixture after a controversial 2-2 draw with Serbia in their previous qualifying tie. Diogo Jota’s two headers for the Portuguese were cancelled out with goals from Aleksandar Mitrovic and Filip Kostic. The game was slated to end as a 2-2 but for Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo’s effort from a distance was spotted to go inside the goal-line, but the referee disallowed the goal. Stefan Mitrovic made a last-ditch tackle inside the goal-line to clear the ball and saved the blushes for his side.
However, Ronaldo believed that the ball had indeed crossed the line and was infuriated. He exploded in rage and threw away his captain’s armband and was eventually booked. With no goal-line technology to confirm or deny the goal, the game ended in an enigmatic 2-2 draw.
Portugal are placed 2nd in Group A standings behind Serbia on total goals scored, while Luxembourg find themselves at an unlikely third spot. Portugal have the perfect opposition in Luxembourg on Wednesday to stamp their authority and return back to winning ways.
Players to watch out for:
Cristiano Ronaldo: The Portuguese five-times Ballon d’Or winner will be pumped to make amends for his side after his goal was denied against Serbia. Ronaldo is known for his stunning comebacks and will lead the Portuguese side into the game against Luxembourg. The Juventus striker has been in excellent individual form in the season. The 36-year old has scored 102 goals in 175 matches for the Portuguese national side and is the highest active goal-scorer in International Football.
Joao Felix: The 21-year old winger cum striker will return to the national side after missing out on the previous games. The Atletico Madrid winger has pace and trickery up his sleeves and will play a key part in setting up Cristiano Ronaldo upfront with his crossing abilities. This will only be the 16th fixture for the Portuguese winger, and a game against Luxembourg is the perfect platform for his return.
Diogo Jota: The Liverpool striker has been in an upward curve as far as his individual form is concerned with long spells of unavailability of Mohammed Salah and Sadio Mane at the Premier League side. Jota’s regular game time under Jurgen Klopp reaped benefits. He scored twice against Serbia in the previous game to salvage a single point for his side before the controversy kicked-in with the disallowed Cristiano Ronaldo goal.
Gerson Rodrigues: Rodrigues is the first-ever player from the tiny European nation to play in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. Rodrigues plies his trade for Ukrania side Dynamo Kyiv. Rodrigues is currently on loan at Ankara and will play his 34th game for his national team. His sole goal from long range earned Luxembourg a historic win over the much-fancied Republic of Ireland at the Aviva Stadium. Rodrigues is high on confidence and will be the key to their team’s chances against a confident Portugal side.
Prediction
Portugal have lost just once in their previous last 11 away fixtures and have won all of the ten earlier ties with Luxembourg. The Portuguese have scored 34 goals and conceded just one goal in head to head clashes with Luxembourg. Luxembourg last won against Portugal way back in the 1962 World Cup, a 4-2 win. With history and current team form favouring the Portuguese side, it will be a sheer surprise if Fernando Santos’ men do not register a comfortable win on the night.
