- 葡萄牙队在最近两场对阵爱尔兰共和国的比赛中没有丢球。
- 爱尔兰队在10月份的最后一次交锋中只投了两球。
- 葡萄牙队如果获胜，将有资格获得小组冠军。
葡萄牙可以终结爱尔兰的世界杯梦想
葡萄牙队将于周四前往爱尔兰共和国，因为他们知道一场胜利将保证他们作为小组冠军参加2026年世界杯。
爱尔兰几乎肯定需要一场胜利来保持自己的希望，到比赛开始时，这可能几乎是一场必须获胜的比赛。Heimir Hallgrímsson的球队在还剩两场比赛的情况下落后匈牙利一分，但如果匈牙利队在早些时候的开球中战胜亚美尼亚队，那么失败将结束爱尔兰的申办，平局将意味着他们必须在布达佩斯的普斯卡斯竞技场获胜，并在最后一轮比赛中推翻一个较低的净胜差。
如果亚美尼亚在早些时候的比赛中避免失败，爱尔兰将发现自己处于更有利的地位，这也意味着葡萄牙在没有比赛的情况下就获得了资格，他们在都柏林不需要任何积分。
考虑到不同的排列，这使得这场比赛很难预测，但如果我们假设葡萄牙在周四需要一些积分，那么爱尔兰可能会度过一个艰难的夜晚。
游客可以在有空位的情况下获胜
上个月，当这两支球队在一场反向比赛中相遇时，葡萄牙队以1比0获胜，但这一结果让爱尔兰队受宠若惊。格林男孩队总共只进行了两次尝试，两次都没有击中目标，而罗伯托·马丁内斯的球队控制了控球权，投了30球，最终获得了3.11的xG。
这是葡萄牙队最近七场比赛中唯一一场被限制在不到两个进球的比赛，他们看起来有能力以相当大的优势获胜，并且可以弥补-1的不利因素。
葡萄牙队在仅仅四场资格赛中就打进了11球，在过去的四场比赛中有两场比赛进了两个多球。在这个基础上，客队以3比0获胜似乎是一个合理的正确得分预测，因为爱尔兰队在过去三场面对面的比赛中都没有得分，
最后，经验丰富的攻击手克里斯蒂亚诺罗纳尔多是任何时候进球的最佳选择，因为他在上次与匈牙利的平局中打进了巴西队的两个进球，并将担任现场踢球任务。
- Portugal have won their last two games against Republic of Ireland without conceding.
- Ireland managed just two shots when these sides last met in October.
- Portugal would qualify as group winners with a victory.
Portugal can end Ireland’s World Cup dream
Portugal head to the Republic of Ireland on Thursday knowing a victory would guarantee their place at World Cup 2026 as group winners.
Ireland almost certainly need a win to keep their own hopes alive and by the time the game kicks off it may be virtually a literal must-win fixture. Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side sit one point behind Hungary with two games remaining, but if the Hungarians wins at Armenia in an earlier kick off then a defeat would end Ireland’s bid and a draw would mean they would have to win at the Puskas Arena in Budapest and overturn an inferior goal difference in the last round of games.
If Armenia avoid defeat in the earlier game, Ireland would find themselves in a much stronger position and it would also mean Portugal have qualified without playing and they wouldn’t need any points in Dublin.
That makes this fixture tricky to predict given the different permutations, but if we assume that Portugal will need some points on Thursday then Ireland could be in for a difficult evening.
Visitors can win with room to spare
Portugal won 1-0 when these sides met in a reverse fixture last month, but that result flattered Ireland. The Boys in Green managed just two attempts in total with neither on target, whereas Roberto Martínez’s men bossed possession and had 30 shots, finishing with an xG of 3.11.
That is the only fixture in Portugal’s last seven games where they have been limited to less than two goals and they look capable of winning by a fairly big margin and they can cover a -1 handicap.
Portugal have hit 11 goals in just four qualifying games and have scored more than twice in two of their last four games. A 3-0 win for the visitors looks a reasonable correct score prediction on that basis as Ireland have failed to score in each of the last three head-to-head meetings,
Finally, veteran attacker Cristiano Ronaldo is the standout option for an anytime goal as he scored both of the Selecao’s goals in the draw with Hungary last time out and will be on spot kick duties.
