Aviva Stadium plays host to an intriguing World Cup Qualification Group A encounter between the Republic of Ireland and Portugal.
A comprehensive 3-0 win in Azerbaijan last time out came too little too late for Ireland, who have already lost any hope of reaching next year’s final tournament. That also remains Ireland’s only victory in six matches in the ongoing World Cup qualifying cycle (D2, L3) and their solitary clean sheet in the series. Indeed, the ‘Boys in Green’ have gone winless in their three Group A games so far (D2, L1), conceding precisely once in each encounter. Ireland’s last 12 competitive matches on home soil have featured under 2.5 total goals, highlighting the potential for a cagey, low-scoring affair. What’s more, Stephen Kenny’s men have failed to get on the scoresheet six times during that 12-game sequence, netting over 1.5 goals only once in the other six.
On the other hand, Portugal will put their hopes of securing automatic qualification for Qatar 2022 on the line here, as they trail Group A leaders Serbia by a single point. Yet, the Euro 2016 winners have a game in hand over the Serbs, and a third straight victory over underperforming Ireland would help them regain control of proceedings in this section. Fernando Santos’ men have hit a purple patch at the best possible moment, putting together five consecutive wins in the build-up to this fixture. But, it’s worth noting that Portugal last won six internationals in a row back in March 2010. The ‘Selecao’ tend to go nuclear on the road as they’ve only lost two World Cup qualifying away matches since launching their quest to advance to the 2002 World Cup.
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