Preview
Luxembourg and Portugal will go head to head on Tuesday in the second World Cup qualifying encounter of Group A. The latter, who were left aggrieved by poor officiating in their previous outing will be particularly eager to bounce back with a win as this round of international fixtures draws to a conclusion. Fernando Santos' men were done a serious injustice after being denied a legitimate winner by Cristiano Ronaldo in Saturday's 2-2 draw with Serbia. The result has left the Seleccao skipper fuming, causing him to rip off his armband and storm off the pitch before full time.
The aftermath of the game has been revealing with the match referee admitting to making an error in his judgment in the absence of goal line technology and VAR. Needless to say, the harm has already and, ahead of Tuesday's trip to Luxembourg, Portugal occupies second position in Group A with a win abs a draw apiece. But they will be poised to make a difference, having lost just one game in their last 11 outings.
On a head-to-head basis, the reigning European champions have the edge over their counterparts as they have won all of the 10 meetings between them, conceding just a goal and scoring 34. Meanwhile, Luxembourg, who last won a game against Portugal in 1962, will however look to defy the odds and secure another surprising result in a second successive game.
After suffering defeat to Qatar in a friendly, Luc Holtz's men picked up the pieces and put in a good shift to beat Ireland 1-0 at the Aviva Stadium in their opening World Cup qualifying group game. The win subsequently brought an end to their four-game winless run that has seen them lose three and draw one. While Luxembourg momentarily sit in third position, they are not expected to be in close contention for qualification place. However, should that be on the cards, they will be require to turn around their poor run of form that has seen them pick up five defeats in their last seven home matches.
Team news
Luxembourg have no injury concerns ahead of Tuesday's meeting with Portugal. The visitors, on the other hand, wil have to make due without Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes who picked up a second successive booking in the tournament in the draw with Serbia.
Predicted starting XI
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Luxembourg: Moris; Martins, Mahmutovic, Chanot, Jans; Martins Pereira; Rodrigues, Barreiro, O. Thill, V. Thill; Sinani
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Portugal: Lopes; Cedric, Duarte, Dias, Mendes; Pereira, Moutinho, Neves; Jota, Ronaldo, Felix.
Broadcast information
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
