Czech Republic vs Portugal Preview

2019 Nations League winners Portugal will travel to Prague this Saturday to face the Czech Republic in the fifth round of the Nations League.

The hosts come into this tie on the back of two straight losses and will be looking to end their woeful run of form which spans three games (D1, L2).

Those two losses came against Portugal and Spain and saw the Czech Republic fail to register a goal against their opposition while they conceded two times.

Given that they are not in World Cup action this winter, Jaroslav Šilhavý’s side can throw everything they have into their final two 2022/23 Nations League fixtures knowing that a win in this game and their game against Switzerland in the next round could even see them make the UNL finals.

Given that they are unbeaten at home since September 2020 (W7, D4) they will be relieved that this fixture is at home even though they’ve lost their last three games against Portugal.

Meanwhile, Portugal will look to bounce back from their disappointing 1-0 loss to Switzerland in the last round when they travel to Prague on Friday.

The visitors come into this tie sitting one point behind Spain who they meet next week. And so this game is all about keeping their chances of finishing at the top of the table alive.

They’ll know that a win here will keep the pressure on their Iberian rivals as they seek to set up a winner-takes-all showdown that will probably determine the group winner.