Portugal vs Netherlands Predictions

Portugal’s semi final meeting with Switzerland on Wednesday was far from the European champions’ best performance, but once again their ability to call on one of the greatest players in history paid dividends. Cristiano Ronaldo scored two late goals to complete a hat-trick against the Swiss, with these goals taking his international tally to an incredible 88 appearances on the scoresheet.

In all honesty, Portugal were probably the weaker side in that clash. Switzerland, and in particular Xherdan Shaqiri, caused them all sorts of problems at the back and they could have had no complaints if they lost that game. Still, the star quality they have proved the deciding factor in the end.

Netherlands’ semi final against England went a bit differently. They were taken to extra-time by the Three Lions, and only made it that far thanks to a 73rd minute equaliser from Matthijs de Ligt. The final 30 minutes saw their opponents fall apart though, with risky defensive plays from John Stones and Ross Barkley practically handing the Dutch a ticket to the final.

That, unlike Portugal’s result, was actually a fair representation of the match. Netherlands’ assured quality in the middle of the park constantly had England under pressure, and it was only the underperformance of their notoriously erratic attackers that stopped them putting England away in regulation time.

Defensively there were some issues for Ronald Koeman’s team, though. Matthijs de Ligt, for all his quality, made a couple of youthful mistakes at the back, one of which led to the goal, while right back Denzel Dumfries was constantly exposed down the flank. This is an area Portugal will be looking to exploit on Sunday.

All things considered, this is looking like a well balanced fixture, and we’re expecting both teams’ star players to shine in Porto. This could result in a difficult evening for the back lines of both sides.

Portugal have only kept a clean sheet in three of their last 11 matches and in just one of their five Nations League matches. Netherlands, similarly, have conceded in eight of their last 11 matches, and with five of the last seven meetings between these sides ending with both teams on the scoresheet we like the look of Both Teams to Score here. We’re also backing a 1-1 draw for our correct score prediction, taking the tie to extra-time and possibly penalties.