Portugal vs Republic of Ireland Preview

Portugal will host Ireland in their last warm-up game before their European Championship group stage opener on Tuesday.

Roberto Martinez’s side enjoyed a perfect Euro qualifying campaign but have found their momentum stunted of late by a run of two defeats from their last three matches (W1). The most recent was a 2-1 loss against Croatia which leaves the Seleção at risk of losing back-to-back friendlies for the first time since 2015.

The most concerning aspect of Portugal’s recent run is that they have conceded exactly twice in each of their last four matches. That’s all the more peculiar given that they kept a clean sheet in nine of their Euro qualifying games. That said, home supporters will certainly be confident of getting back on the winning trail given their solid H2H record historically (W8, D3, L4).

Meanwhile, the Republic of Ireland will be determined to improve on that bad record against Portugal. They travel to Aviero in good spirits having just ended a four-match winless run (D2, L2) by securing a last-gasp victory over Hungary.

Interim boss John O’Shea was pleased that his side “found a way to win” as he gears up to lead the Boys in Green for the final time before a permanent boss is appointed over the summer. O’Shea remains a frontrunner for the post and he can perhaps enhance his chances by getting another positive result here.