Both nation's last outing was in November, with the hosts suffering a shock 1-0 defeat to Morocco in the World Cup quarterfinal, while Liechtenstein were beaten 2-0 by Gibraltar in a friendly.
Portugal will kickoff their Euro 2024 qualification campaign when they host Liechtenstein in a Group J fixture at Estadio de Alvalade on Thursday night. Both side’s last outing was in November, with the hosts suffering a shock 1-0 defeat to Morocco in the World Cup quarterfinal, while Liechtenstein were beaten 2-0 by Gibraltar in a friendly. The World Cup-exit lead to the exit of Euro 2016-winning manager Fernando Santos after almost nine years in job. Meanwhile, this will be the first encounter between these two sides in more than 13 years, the last one ending 3-0 in favour of Portugal.
It’s 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗗𝗔𝗬! 💚💛❤️
Prontos para o jogo com o 🇱🇮! ☝️ Ready for our game against 🇱🇮! ☝️ #VesteABandeira #WearTheFlag pic.twitter.com/jEPbRIkFtq
— Portugal (@selecaoportugal) March 23, 2023
Roberto Martinez has come in to replace Santos after also leaving his role as Belgium boss in the aftermath of a group stage exit in the Qatar World Cup. The Spanish tactician’s first task would be to ensure qualification to the next European championship in Germany. The Navigators ironically lost out to Martinez’s Red Devils in the Euro 2020 last-16 stage. After failing to defend their continental crown, Portugal had to go through the playoffs to secure qualification to the World Cup. Selecao recorded two wins and a defeat in the group stage to progress to the round of 16 in Qatar, where they thrashed Switzerland 6-1, thanks to Goncalo Ramos’ hat-trick. But the highly talented Portuguese side couldn’t get past a resolute Moroccan team in the last eight stage, losing 1-0 courtesy of Youssouf En-Nesyri’s 42nd-minute effort. The Atlas Lions became the first African side to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup. Meanwhile, Martinez is once again assigned with a star-studded squad and it would be interesting to see whether 49 year-old can lead them to glory in major tournaments.
Liechtenstein, on the other hand, are winless since the 2-1 triumph over Luxembourg back in October 2020. The Blue-Reds are on 13-game losing streak. Their last competitive action was against Moldova in the UEFA Nations League back in September last year, which ended in a 2-0 loss, courtesy of Victor Stinha’s injury-time brace. Liechtenstein were the worst performing team in the competition, losing all of their six group games and finishing bottom with zero points in League D. The Blue-Reds are now ranked 198th in the world, their lowest ever position in the rankings.
Al Nassr striker Cristiano Ronaldo has been named in the squad and it would be interesting to see whether Martinez will include the 38-year-old in the starting lineup. The legendary striker has 118 international goals to his name. Veteran central defender Pep suffered an injury and has been ruled out for the upcoming two fixtures.
Portugal Probable Starting Lineup: Diogo Costa, Cancelo, Danilo, Antonio Silva, Guerreiro, Ruben, Bernardo Silva, Fernandes, Joao Felix, Ronaldo, Rafael Leao
Liechtenstein Probable Starting Lineup: Buchel, Yildiz, S Wolfinger, M Wolfinger, Hofer, Traber, Hasler, Sele, Luchinger, Weiser, Frick
Portugal
Opponents | Score |
Morocco | 1-0 (L) |
Switzerland | 6-1 (W) |
South Korea | 2-1 (L) |
Uruguay | 2-0 (W) |
Ghana | 3-2 (W) |
Liechtenstein
Opponents | Score |
Gibraltar | 2-0 (L) |
Moldova | 2-0 (L) |
Andorra | 0-2 (L) |
Latvia | 0-2 (L) |
Andorra | 2-1 (L) |
Last 5 match-results | Score |
Portugal beat Liechtenstein | 0-3 |
Portugal beat Liechtenstein | 2-1 |
Liechtenstein draw Portugal | 2-2 |
Portugal beat Liechtenstein | 8-0 |
Portugal beat Liechtenstein | 0-5 |
The UEFA Euro 2024 qualification match between Portugal and Liechtenstein will take place at Estadio Jose Alvalarde on Friday 1:15 am IST.
Portugal vs Liechtenstein | Key Details |
Date | March 23 (Portugal) |
Venue | Estadip Jose Alvalarde |
Kickoff time in Portugal | 7:45 pm (Thursday) |
Kickoff time in Liechtenstein | 8:45 pm (Thursday) |
Kickoff time in India | 1:15 am (Friday) |
The live telecast of the Euro 2024 qualification matches will be available on Sony Sports network. Besides fans in India can live stream through Jio TV and Sony LIV. Football fans in Liechtenstein can catch the live action Landeskanal, while those in Portugal can tune to Sport TV and RTP network.