The teams of Portugal and Switzerland will meet in the 1/8 finals of the World Cup. Will the 2016 European champions be able to continue their journey at the tournament, or will Ronaldo and Co go home? We'll figure it out.
Portugal
Portugal took first place in its group, leaving behind Ghana, South Korea and Uruguay.
The 2016 European champions scored six points in the group: in the first match they beat Ghana 3-2, and in the second match they were stronger than Uruguay (2-0). After two games, the wards of Fernando Santos guaranteed themselves a place in the playoffs, and only by certain mathematical calculations could they concede the first line. In the last meeting, the Portuguese lost to South Korea (1:2). It is worth noting that Portugal lost a World Cup match for the first time in its history, in which it opened an account. Before that, there were 18 meetings in which 15 victories were won, and three games ended in a draw.
One of the main leaders of the team was Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes, who scored four points on the "goal + pass" system.
Switzerland
Switzerland took the second place in its group, losing the first place to one of the favorites of the tournament, the Brazilian national team only by additional indicators.
In the first round, Murat Yakin's wards prevailed over the Cameroon national team (1:0), in the second match they lost to the South American national team with a minimum score of 0:1, and in the final match they defeated the Serbian national team (3:2).
The main leaders of the national team are Jerdan Shaqiri, who does not leave without scoring a goal from three World Cups in a row, and Breel Embolo, who scored twice at the tournament.
It is worth noting that the main goalkeeper Yann Sommer missed the game against Serbia due to illness.
Switzerland is one of two European teams, along with France, that have reached the playoffs at the last five major tournaments since 2014 (World Cup + Euro).
Statistics and figures
Portugal is the favorite of the match according to bookmakers;
Switzerland conceded three goals at the tournament;
The teams played twice this year, in the League of Nations matches, and exchanged victories.
Forecast
I believe that Switzerland will not lose in this match, thanks to a responsible game in defense, the form of Cristiano Ronaldo, who, according to some statistical portals, is among the worst players of the tournament, can serve as a plus to this.
