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Portugal & Italy Attempt To Live Up To Expectations

Football is a funny game, and just when we think we’ve got all of the answers, the questions change. There are no two better examples of that, arguably, than the Premier League and the World Cup. We’ve spoken about the first pretty regularly, but since the WC came to an end earlier this summer, the focus has shifted pretty quickly back to domestic football. While we can completely understand why, and while we’d probably agree with that in earnest, there’s something to be said for the fact that there’s so much excitement for the start of the controversial UEFA Nations League.

The initiative has been introduced in order to not only provide fans with more entertainment value during friendlies but also to give different nations a chance of qualifying for major tournaments. While we’ll have to wait and see whether or not it’s successful, it’s certainly worth noting that we’ve seen a handful of intriguing games go down already – and this is only the beginning.

Obviously, there’s going to be no end to the doubters who will think that it’s pointless, but we don’t care about that. Instead, we care about some of the tremendous match-ups that we’ve been handed, with a shining example being Portugal vs Italy. These are two nations who are littered with historical moments on the world and European stage, to the point where they’re often considered to be amongst the best footballing nations on the planet. Trust us, that isn’t an understatement.

In the wake of the World Cup both of these countries are going to be feeling pretty disappointed, but for very, very different reasons. The Portuguese were able to progress into the Round of 16 courtesy of a ‘mixed’ group stage to say the least, but were unfortunately knocked out by Uruguay. It was a game full of mistakes, but at the end of the day, their fans and management will have to hold their hands up and say that they were simply the worst team on the night.

Still, at least they were able to reach the finals in Russia – which can’t be said for Italy. The multi-time world champions unbelievably failed in their attempt to reach the 2018 FIFA World Cup, falling at the final hurdle against Sweden. Of course, the Swedes went on to reach the quarter-finals so they were clearly formidable opponents, but that isn’t the point. The point is that this great footballing nation dropped the ball in a big way, letting down millions of fans around the globe in the process.

Alas, tomorrow is another day, and tomorrow is also the day that these two goliaths of world football will attempt to really kickstart their road to UEFA Euro 2020 in a way that will satisfy the masses.

They’ve gone head to head on multiple occasions across the years, and the overall standings are much more one sided than you may initially think. Italy are 18-5 up on the scoreboard with two draws between them, although that doesn’t exactly tell the entire story. The Italians were able to win ten games in a row against Portugal in their last 11, but in their most recent meeting back in 2015, it was the Portuguese who came away with the bragging rights after securing a 1-0 win in a friendly.

Of course, none of that really matters when we look ahead to the future, and something that is more relevant is how they’ve both performed in their last six games. Portugal, who won Euro 2016 against all odds, have been much busier as you’d expect from a team who reached the knockout stages of the World Cup. They’ve won two, drawn three and lost one of their last six games in all competitions, with their Nations League campaign getting off to a decent start as they drew 1-1 with World Cup finalists Croatia.

Things haven’t been quite as rosy for the Italians as you’d probably expect given their circumstances. They’ve picked up one win, three draws and two losses in their last six, which actually dates all the way back to the end of March. They also began life in the Nations League a few days ago, although they probably won’t be quite as satisfied with their result. They drew 1-1 with a Poland side that were unbelievably disappointing in Russia this summer, but as we’ve heard so many times in this game, the only way is up as they look ahead to this fixture.

The most notable news story of all, from a ‘team news’ perspective, is that Cristiano Ronaldo will not be playing for Portugal during the international break. The former Real Madrid star is still adjusting to life in Italy with Juventus, after a frustrating first few games in Serie A. Still, it’s not all doom and gloom, because the Portuguese have been able to look towards their youth with Gedson Fernandes, Sergio Oliveira, Claudio Ramos and Pedro Mendes all aiming to make a statement after being called up to the senior squad for the first time. On top of that, they’ve got Ruben Neves in their ranks, who will be viewed as one of their main stars moving forward.

Italian fans would’ve likely been intrigued to see Mario Balotelli pulling on the famous blue shirt again, as he made his first appearance on the international stage in four years against Poland. Unfortunately, he struggled to really find his footing in the game, and the same can be said for Lorenzo Pellegrini. Expect an unusual line-up as Roberto Mancini attempts to figure out his best starting XI ahead of Euro 2020 and beyond.

Portugal vs Italy Betting Prediction

This game is a tough one to call, if only because we don’t know how seriously both nations are going to take the Nations League. A lot of fans are excited to see what it brings and hopes that it leads to more attacking football in perceived ‘friendlies’, and we do believe that’s what we’re going to see in this game. Both teams will try and stick to their morals defensively, but we can see the Italians outsmarting Portugal in the middle of the park.

It’s probably not going to be the most thrilling of games from a goalscoring perspective, but that doesn’t always represent how good or bad a game has been. We think that Italy are going to score pretty early on before sitting back on their lead, with the end result either being 1-0 or 2-0 depending on whether or not they can utilise the counter attack well. It’ll be close, though, and either way we should be in for a game that will have people talking for a few days.