Soccer UEFA Euro Qualification - Group Stage

Iceland vs Portugal - Match Preview

⚽ 20 June 2023 - 18:45 GMT +0

Iceland is skating on thin ice following a poor start to this UEFA European Championship Qualifying campaign (ECQ) after suffering defeats on either side of a dominant 7-0 thumping of minnows Liechtenstein. The latest of those losses was a 2-1 home defeat to Slovakia, spoiling newly-appointed manager Åge Hareide’s welcome party and leaving his side needing to play catchup if they’re to qualify for only their third-ever major tournament.

That defeat to Slovakia prolonged what’s been a poor recent home record for ‘Our Boys’, having picked only one win in the last ten games on home soil (D4, L5). It was, however, only their second defeat in their last 13 home ECQs (W9, D2), showing they can still dream of repeating their heroic Euro 2016 quarter-final run that captivated the world in Germany next year.

That tournament was made particularly historic by opponents Portugal famously capturing their first and only international accolade, and they’ve looked every bit like those world beaters since manager Roberto Martínez’s appointment. His first three matches in charge of the Seleção have all come in this ECQ campaign, where a hat trick of clean sheet victories hasn’t only made light work of Group J, but also helped Portugal impose themselves on the rest of the continent with no one scoring more than their 13 goals thus far.

Seemingly in a rush to secure their spot in the draw for Germany 2024, FIFA’s number nine-ranked side hasn’t missed a major tournament this century, and will be strongly fancied to take one step closer with a win here. The last time these sides squared off was in Group F of those Euros in 2016, where a 1-1 draw ensured Portugal remained unbeaten against Iceland (W2, D1) with both sides scoring in each encounter.

📋 Players to watch: After missing out on the feast vs Liechtenstein, Iceland’s Alfreð Finnbogason scored the tenth of his last 13 international goals before half-time vs Slovakia. Meanwhile, Portugal’s Bruno Fernandes had a hand in all three goals last time out vs Bosnia (G2, A1), continuing his 100% record when scoring in national colours (W10).

⚡ Hot stat: Only three of Portugal’s last 14 matches saw both teams score, with none of those games ending in a draw (W10, L4).