MX23RW : Wednesday, July 3 13:25:48| >> :60:2783:2783:
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Attendance: 18,534
Portugal national football team
Euro Champ Qualifying | Group Stage
Nov 14, 2019 at 7.45pm UK
 
Lithuania national football team

6-0

Ronaldo (7' pen., 22', 65'), Pizzi (52'), Paciencia (56'), Silva (63')
FT(HT: 2-0)

Preview: Portugal vs. Lithuania - predictions, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews the Euro 2020 qualifying Group B clash between Portugal and Lithuania, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Portugal face a fight to finish in an automatic qualification spot in Group B of Euro 2020 qualifying as they host Lithuania next, with Serbia just one point behind.

Lithuania, on the other hand, have nothing to play for in the group, sitting bottom on one point with just this final fixture to complete.


Match Preview

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring against Switzerland in the UEFA Nations League on June 5, 2019.© Reuters

Portugal blew their chances of finishing top of the group when they lost 2-1 to Ukraine in their last game, handing their opponents an unassailable eight-point gap on the chasing pack.

It was the first loss of Portugal's qualifying campaign but it was a significant one, allowing Serbia to move within a point of them and keep the pressure on heading into the final round of fixtures.

However, with second-bottom Luxembourg to follow after Lithuania, Cristiano Ronaldo and co. will feel confident of picking up maximum points from their final two games and assuring themselves of a spot at Euro 2020.

Ronaldo himself hit four in a 5-1 win the last time these two sides met, and has scored half of his nation's 14 qualifying goals so far in this campaign.

Lithuania, whose sole point in the group came at home in a 1-1 draw against a similarly struggling Luxembourg side, will not relish the prospect of facing the Juventus forward for a second time - and in Portugal.

The Group B minnows have shipped a whopping 19 goals in just seven games, scoring only five in that period.

Lithuania were not even able to take advantage of the Nations League pathway by failing to win their group, instead finishing bottom, losing each of their six games in the competition and suffering relegation to League D.

Instead, Serbia took advantage and they, as well as Ukraine and Portugal, would be guaranteed a playoff place were they to finish outside the two automatic qualification spots.

Portugal form: WWWWWL

Lithuania form: DLLLLL


Team News

Cristiano Ronaldo stands injured for Portugal before leaving the field on March 25, 2019© Reuters

Portugal boss Fernando Santos was unable to call up a number of players for this round of international qualifying games.

Forward pair Goncalo Guedes and Joao Felix are both out with ankle injuries suffered with their respective La Liga clubs.

Everton midfielder Andre Gomes suffered a horror ankle injury and is now a long-term absentee, with his return a long way off at present.

Fellow midfielder Joao Mario is also sidelined, along with Barcelona right-back Nelson Semedo.

All five players were in the last squad, with Guedes, Mario and Semedo all starting in the defeat to Ukraine.

Portugal possible starting lineup:
Patricio; Pereira, Dias, Fonte, Guerreiro; Neves, Moutinho; Fernandes, B. Silva; Ronaldo, A. Silva

Lithuania possible starting lineup:
Setkus; Mikoliunas, Girdvainis, Klimavicius, Andriuskevicius; Kuklys, Simkus; Lasickas, Slivka, Novikovas; Cernych


Sports Mole Logo

We say: Portugal 4-1 Lithuania

Portugal will be keen to dispatch their opponents with a minimum amount of fuss and should stroll to a comfortable victory by a sizeable margin.



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Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring against Switzerland in the UEFA Nations League on June 5, 2019.
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Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Germany Germany32107
Q Switzerland Switzerland31205
3 Hungary Hungary31023
4 Scotland flag Scotland30121

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain33009
Q Italy Italy31114
3 Croatia Croatia30212
4 Albania national flag Albania30121

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England31205
Q Denmark Denmark30303
Q Slovenia Slovenia30303
4 Serbia Serbia30212

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Austria Austria32016
Q France France31205
Q Netherlands Netherlands31114
4 Poland Poland30121

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania31114
Q Belgium Belgium31114
Q Slovakia Slovakia31114
4 Ukraine Ukraine31114

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal32016
Q Turkey Turkey32016
Q Georgia Georgia31114
4 Czech Republic Czech Republic30121


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