Portugal take on the visitors Croatia in the round 1 match of UEFA Nations League group stage. The match will be played on Thursday, September 5th at Estádio da Luz (Lisbon).
Portugal gives Roberto Martínez another chance. The "Seleção" brought in the Spaniard after the last World Cup, marking the end of Fernando Santos' era as head coach. Santos had delivered major trophies for Portugal, but it was clear that his time had run its course. Moreover, at the World Cup in Qatar, he controversially left Ronaldo out of the starting lineup. Martínez learned from his predecessor's mistake, and under his management, Cristiano plays whenever he wants and is able to. As a result, Portugal breezed through the qualification campaign. At the Euro, despite their aging leader not scoring, the team performed well: they advanced from the group with a couple of wins and only exited in the quarterfinals, losing to France in a penalty shootout. After that, the long-standing defensive stalwart, Pepe, retired, but Ronaldo has stated that he still intends to "help the team"...
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Croatia, under Zlatko Dalić, have experienced a second "golden" era—more accurately, a "silver" one. In 2018, they celebrated the 20th anniversary of Šuker's era by surpassing that generation and reaching the World Cup final. Additionally, Modrić and company came close to success in the last Nations League, losing the title-deciding match to Spain in a penalty shootout. And just 18 months ago, they won the World Cup bronze in Qatar... However, they faltered at the Euro, failing to progress from their group. Despite being thrashed by Spain and drawing with Albania, they led against Italy after a goal by Modrić, only for the Italians to equalize in the 8th minute of stoppage time, sending Croatia home after a 1-1 draw. Luka Modrić remains, but veterans like Vida and Brozović are gone. Additionally, there are several injuries—Stanišić, Juranović, and Vlašić.
Portugal had never lost in their first seven encounters with Croatia—five wins and two draws. But earlier this summer, before the Euro, the "Checkered Ones" finally secured a win, and it was away, with a 2-1 victory. Portugal is considered the clear favorite, but they have been underwhelming recently, much like Croatia. Modrić and his teammates were clearly unlucky at the Euro. Betting on the visitors with a "+1 goal" handicap seems reasonable.
Prediction for the match: Croatia to win with +1.0 handicap.
