Republic of Ireland vs Portugal Predictions

• Portugal have won their last two games against Republic of Ireland without conceding.
• Ireland managed just two shots when these sides last met in October.
• Portugal would qualify as group winners with a victory.

Portugal can end Ireland’s World Cup dream

Portugal head to the Republic of Ireland on Thursday knowing a victory would guarantee their place at World Cup 2026 as group winners.

Ireland almost certainly need a win to keep their own hopes alive and by the time the game kicks off it may be virtually a literal must-win fixture. Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side sit one point behind Hungary with two games remaining, but if the Hungarians wins at Armenia in an earlier kick off then a defeat would end Ireland’s bid and a draw would mean they would have to win at the Puskas Arena in Budapest and overturn an inferior goal difference in the last round of games.

If Armenia avoid defeat in the earlier game, Ireland would find themselves in a much stronger position and it would also mean Portugal have qualified without playing and they wouldn’t need any points in Dublin.

That makes this fixture tricky to predict given the different permutations, but if we assume that Portugal will need some points on Thursday then Ireland could be in for a difficult evening.

Visitors can win with room to spare

Portugal won 1-0 when these sides met in a reverse fixture last month, but that result flattered Ireland. The Boys in Green managed just two attempts in total with neither on target, whereas Roberto Martínez’s men bossed possession and had 30 shots, finishing with an xG of 3.11.

That is the only fixture in Portugal’s last seven games where they have been limited to less than two goals and they look capable of winning by a fairly big margin and they can cover a -1 handicap.

Portugal have hit 11 goals in just four qualifying games and have scored more than twice in two of their last four games. A 3-0 win for the visitors looks a reasonable correct score prediction on that basis as Ireland have failed to score in each of the last three head-to-head meetings,

Finally, veteran attacker Cristiano Ronaldo is the standout option for an anytime goal as he scored both of the Selecao’s goals in the draw with Hungary last time out and will be on spot kick duties.