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Italy & Portugal Collide Once Again

Here we are again – stuck in the middle of an international break with nowhere to turn. Ironically enough it seems like more fans are starting to talk about things like the UEFA Nations League more so than they have done in the past, but it’s taken a long, long time for us to get to this point. Well, not that long, but you can understand where we’re coming from. There are still things about the league that we’d change and alter, but when you’re getting the chance to see some of international football’s finest square off against each other it’s hard to complain all that much.

The nature of the structure for the UNL ensures that we’re going to be seeing a lot of rematches, with one of them being Italy vs Portugal. These two sides are pretty familiar with one another at this stage, and it’ll be interesting to see how they match up when this game goes down tomorrow at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium – also known as the San Siro. We’re expecting a sell out crowd of some description and it feels like we’re going to get a great following from the Portuguese as a result, because let’s face it, the love of football isn’t just restricted to the domestic game no matter how much fans will try and tell you otherwise.

The Italians head into this one knowing that they’re still in the process of a rebuilding phase, ever since they failed to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. You could make the argument that the national team has been rotten to the core for a few years now but they always seem to bounce back when it appears as if they’re down in the dumps, and whether you love them or you hate them, it’s kind of difficult not to appreciate or at least respect that.

On the opposite end of the spectrum you’ve got the Portuguese, who are already starting to put the pieces in place for life after Cristiano Ronaldo. CR7 has been the main man for his national side for well over a decade now, but there are a series of young stars coming through that could do some really big things at future international tournaments. In terms of the squad as a whole it feels as if they’re putting together performances that showcase what they’re capable of doing as a unit, which is impressive given that they could easily spend the next few years living off of their Euro 2016 glory.

Over the course of the last six games both nations have experienced highs and lows, which is hardly some kind of overwhelming revelation. Italy were used as a side to warm up those who were heading to the World Cup in Russia back in June which must’ve been pretty frustrating, especially when they were defeated 3-1 by eventual world champions France. They kept that winless theme going with 1-1 draws against the Netherlands and Poland, a 1-0 loss against Portugal in the reverse fixture of this encounter, and a 1-1 draw against Ukraine. Oh, but they did manage to edge out a 1-0 win over Poland, so that’s something.

Portugal, on the other hand, appear to have learned from the mistakes they made over the summer. Their six game stretch as of late began with a 1-1 draw against Iran in Group B at the World Cup, which should’ve been the wake up call that they needed – but it wasn’t. That came in the form of a 2-1 loss to Uruguay which knocked them out of the tournament, although a 1-1 draw in a friendly against WC finalists Croatia back in September gave them cause for optimism. Since then they’ve defeated Italy 1-0, Poland 3-2 and Scotland 3-1, and all in all, their fortunes look good.

As we’ve noted a handful of times already Italy and Portugal are no strangers to one another, with Italy leading the overall head to head standings 18-6 with two draws to speak of. A second half Andre Silva goal gave Portugal the spoils back in September, but before that, this rivalry was quite one sided to put it mildly. Portugal had won just twice in 16 games dating all the way back to 1957, with 13 of those being losses. Alas, as we’ve learned time and time again recently, the past doesn’t matter all too much in this crazy sport.

Changes should always be expected in international football, especially given that form plays a big factor in how most nations select their squads these days – although you’ll still get some who make decisions based on name value and nothing else. For Italy you’ve got Stefano Sensi, Vincenzo Grifo and Sandro Tonali who have all been given their first senior call-ups, with Federico Bernadeschi withdrawing due to an injury. Tonali, in particular, is a really interesting character, and he has the potential to do big things over the next few years.

From the perspective of name value alone it feels like Portugal are building a reputation for themselves all over again as a team to watch, as we gear up for the road to Euro 2020. Jose Fonte, Andre Gomes, Joao Mario and Raphael Guerreiro are all set to return to the squad and potentially even the starting XI, and while there are still a handful of veterans mixed in there with the new breed, it’s impossible not to be excited about what these guys could produce. If nothing else, they’ll be drawing a tonne of eyes to the national team and that’s vitally important if they want to keep their momentum going from France two years ago.

Italy vs Portugal Betting Prediction

We’re expecting to see some really entertaining stuff when these two nations collide at the San Siro, mainly because there’s going to be so many great attacking options on display. Obviously both nations aren’t at their ‘prime’ so to speak in the present day, but the building blocks have been put in place which should make for an intriguing contest. We think that Portugal are going to start fast because they know that they kind of have to in order to make the right kind of impact, and we believe they’ll score the opening goal.

That’ll serve as the wake up call that the Italians need to get them going, and they’ll start to put together some nice passages of play – while being unable to break Portugal down. This’ll go on until the final 15 minutes or so when Italy will finally get their goal and equaliser, setting up what should be a grandstand finish. The game will finish 1-1 with both teams going away feeling slightly frustrated about not being able to pick up the three points, but in the end, they’ll both have things to work on.