While Portugal secured their place in the Round of 16 after two matches and wins in the group, Switzerland needed to beat Serbia in an exciting reprise of their duel at the last World Cup in Russia. In any case, now we will once again see Portugal and Switzerland play each other after they did so twice this year in UEFA Nations League.
Portugal odds: 10/11 – implied probability 52.4%
Draw odds: 53/21 – implied probability 28.4%
Switzerland odds: 19/5 – implied probability 20.8%
As expected, Portugal is heading into this game as the overwhelming favourite to win but Switzerland have caused upsets in major tournaments before and have a side capable of defeating Portugal on their day so it’s not a completely done deal.
If you fancy backing a First Goalscorer in this game then look no further than Cristiano Ronaldo who’s priced at 47/10, implied probability of 17.5%, is the bookmaker’s pick to score first. However, the bookmakers don’t seem convinced either way if there will be goals in this match for both countries as the odds on Both Teams to Score currently stand at 24/23 (implied probability 48.9%), while a BTTS – No bet is priced at around 9/10 (implied probability 52.6%) so there’s not much between the two.
Can Ronaldo and his men deal with the tough Swiss team?
After beating Ghana and Uruguay in their first two games in the group stages, Portugal already secured their place in the Round of 16 ahead of the last match with South Korea, which could explain their loss. And despite that loss, they still ended at the top of the group, avoiding Brazil in this stage. Instead, they will play with Switzerland, which will still be a tough test for this Portugal squad, but one that can be passed.
Meanwhile, Switzerland didn’t perform well when they played Cameroon in the first round and they just about managed to secure that win; this was followed by a loss against Brazil, which took no-one by surprise. However, as predicted, Switzerland played the deciding game with Serbia, like four years ago in Russia, and once again, it was a very exciting and tense match, won by the Swiss which secured them their spot in the knockout stages.
Overall. It’s easy to understand why Portugal is the favourite to win this match; however, when under pressure, the Suiss tend to find that little extra somewhere deep down that everyone now and then, gets them through to another round.
