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Portugal vs Switzerland will be the last game of the first knockouts of the FIFA World Cup 2022. One of the two teams will book its place in the last eight after the conclusion of this match. Portugal hasn’t made it past the round of 16 since the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Meanwhile, Switzerland’s last entry into the quarterfinals was in the 1954 World Cup on their home soil.

Both teams qualified for the last 16 with six points and each of them lost one match during the group stage. However, Portugal finished top in their table while Switzerland entered the knockouts as their group runner-up. Switzerland and Portugal have almost similar levels of recent forms. Their defense isn’t that convincing and solid yet somehow they have managed to overcome that with more goals of their own.

Both teams have a long wait to be in the quarter-finals. Although Portugal freshly lost a match to a notably lower-ranked FIFA nation than them, they will still be the favorites to win against Switzerland. Read further to know what actually are the chances for the European Selecao to emerge victorious versus the somewhat not-so-in-solid-form Switzerland.

While Portugal coach Fernando Santos has been criticized for years for his conservative style of tactics, he does take fewer risks when it comes to experimenting with the lineups that have been running so far. Starting from the back, the veteran Pepe should be a super easy man to see in the first eleven. Likewise could be said for Manchester City ace defender Ruben Dias. Diogo Dalot who received his first start in the game against South Korea proved to be rather impressive so he may retain his position in the right flank against the Swiss. One of the big bad news for Portugal is PSG’S talent, on the edge, Nuno Mendes has been sidelined for the rest of the world cup and so is PSG midfielder Danilo Pereira. Porto midfielder Otavio Edmilson remains doubtful too.

For Switzerland, the nation will be hoping to see their maven goalkeeper Yann Sommer return to the first eleven after he missed the game against Serbia due to illness. Other than that, there really is no concern in the Switzerland initial lineups. We, though, might see Young Boys winger Christian Fassnacht and Lugano midfielder Renato Steffen coming off the bench at some point in halftime. The other groupies should be Granit Xhaka, Remo Freuler, Ruben Vargas, and Xherdan Shaqiri.

Despite a few or two defensive flaws, you have to give it to Portugal for their victory over teams like Uruguay and Ghana both of whom even on their worst day have one of the most stubborn backlines. A loss against South Korea can be somewhat neglected for the match didn’t have any impact on Portugal’s qualification. Additionally, the game had most of Portugal’s players from the bench. During the upcoming game against Switzerland, the 2016 European champions are certain to struggle to bypass their fellow European opponent. The Nats for years have had one of the most adamant defenses often times formidable for even the heavyweights.

A recent example of this is their stubbornness against the five-time world champion, Brazil during the group stage. Furthermore, the Swiss with their methodical gameplay and defense are better than any team Portugal has played against in this competition so far. But then again, in terms of individual talents, Portugal notably has a higher reputation and all they need is one or two moments of a slip or slackness from Switzerland. Also, lately against the big team, while they may not concede the match that easily or at all, they themselves lack the creativity to generate the final third or enough lethal chances. Nevertheless, it shouldn’t be surprising the game goes all the way to the penalty shootout.