The Portuguese national team starts a new era on Thursday. The federation appointed coach Roberto Martinez after the 2022 World Cup and the eight years under Fernando Santos, who managed to win UEFA Euro 2016 in the final against France. Portugal and Lichtenstein are in the Group J of Euro qualifying with Bosnia, Iceland, Luxembourg, and Slovakia. Portugal will also play against Luxembourg on Sunday, while Lichtenstein will face Iceland the same day for the second round of the group's qualifiers. Here's what you need to know:
How to watch and odds
- Date: Thursday, Mar. 23 | Time: 3:45 p.m. ET
- Location: José Alvalade Stadium -- Lisbon, Portugal
- TV: FOX | Live stream: fuboTV (try for free)
Team news
Portugal: New coach and former Belgium manager Martinez included some old faces like Cristiano Ronaldo in the squad list. The former Manchester United player is expected to start alongside Joao Felix and Rafael Leao. There are no major surprises in the squad apart from maybe Ronaldo, as Martinez pointed out, "He's part of the list because he made history in the past 19 years here. He deserves respect".
Lichtenstein: Lichtenstein never played in one of the major competitions and only once the finish above last place in their group. This time isn't expected to be any different.
Prediction
Portugal are expected to win it easily considering the opponent. However, it will be interesting to see how this new era will kick off. Pick: Portugal 5, Lichtenstein 0.
