2019 UEFA Nations League Semifinal Odds & Pick: Portugal vs Switzerland
- Inaugural UEFA Nations League resumes on Wednesday
- Portugal are hosts and highly fancied
- Switzerland outsider at +440
With the European domestic soccer season concluding with Liverpool’s Champions League triumph over Tottenham, all eyes now turn to the inaugural UEFA Nation League finals, which kick-off with the first semifinal on Wednesday, June 5 at the Estádio do Dragão, Porto at 2:45 pm EST between Portugal and Switzerland.
Portugal vs Switzerland – UEFA Nations League Semifinal Odds
| Team | Spread | Moneyline Odds | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal | -0.5, -1.0pk (+116) | -152 | O 2.5 (+106) |
| Switzerland | +0.5, +1.0 (-104) | +440 | U 2.5 (-126) |
| Draw | N/A | +240 | N/A |
*Odds taken on June 3, 2019
Portugal start as favorites to qualify for Sunday’s final, in part down to the quality in their squad, which of course includes Cristiano Ronaldo, and also the fact they enjoy home advantage for this tournament. It’s the Swiss however, who led the way in stats and who will go into the game with confidence.
Pepe ?? on Cristiano Ronaldo:
"We have the privilege of having the best player in the world, who is also a scoring machine. With having Cristiano Portugal's strengths are to be a very hard working team & a humble team but also respectful of their opponents." pic.twitter.com/wVrYKWU80x
— TeamCRonaldo (@TeamCRonaldo) June 3, 2019
Impressive in Qualifying
Switzerland qualified from a tricky-looking Group 2 courtesy of a fine 5-2 home win over Belgium in their final qualifier – a game in which they needed to beat the Belgians by two clear goals. They also did the double over Iceland, with their only defeat coming in Brussels in their second match.
Portugal’s progress in Group 2 was equally impressive, with wins over Italy and Poland in their first two games setting them up nicely for qualification. Two draws in their final two qualifying games were enough to see them qualify for a tournament that was to be played on home soil.
Portugal vs Switzerland Match-Ups
| 2 / 4 | Number of wins in 2018/19 UNL / Number of games | 3 / 4 |
| 5 / 1.25 | Number of goals scored in 2018/19 UNL / Per game | 14 / 3.5 |
| 3 / 0.8 | Number of goals conceded in 2018/19 UNL / Per game | 5 / 1.2 |
| 1590 / 83% | Total passes completed in 2018/19 UNL / Pass completion | 1876 / 87% |
| 46 / 11.5 | Total goal attempts in 2018/19 UNL / Per game | 66 / 16.5 |
| 1 | Number of trophies won | 0 |
| 2 | Number of semifinals | 0 |
| 7 | FIFA world ranking | 8 |
As the above table shows, one significant advantage Portugal have over the Swiss is that they have won a trophy on the biggest stage – their big moment being beating the hosts France in the final to win Euro 2016 – and they have a squad full of quality.
Portugal’s New Crop
In addition to the vastly experienced Ronaldo, they now have a group of younger players who look certain to lead their country to further trophies down the line, with most of this crop playing in the top leagues and for the big clubs in Europe.
?? New-look Portugal ✅
? Bernardo Silva shines ?#NationsLeague pic.twitter.com/tR9ysM7evO— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) October 11, 2018
Players like Man City’s Bernardo Silva and Benfica youngster Joao Felix are among those who will carry the baton when Ronaldo eventually retires. They will be supported by players like the Wolves’ duo of Joao Moutinho and Ruben Neves, and Benfica’s Bruno Fernandes.
Pressure on Santos
With such quality at his disposal, there is pressure on head coach Fernando Santos to integrate the new guard and also to deploy a more expansive style of football, befitting such a talented group.
Over their last 15 games, the Portuguese are W5-D9-L1, which includes draws in each of their last four outings. Their only defeat in this run was a 2-1 defeat to Uruguay in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri both grew up in Switzerland because of the Serbian repression in Kosovo in the 1990s.
Last night, they both scored and celebrated with the gesture of the Albanian eagle – a win that could see Serbia eliminated. pic.twitter.com/X0KnCad2et
— FourFourTweet (@FourFourTweet) June 23, 2018
Functional Swiss
Switzerland, like Portugal, have earned themselves a reputation for playing functional rather than attractive football but this has proved a successful formula for them. They are an extremely hard-working team, the spine of which is the English Premier League trio of Fabian Schar, Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri.
In addition to Ronaldo, Portugal now has a group of younger players who look certain to lead their country to further trophies down the line
Worth noting too is that the Swiss qualified for these finals with more points than any other League A winners, and had a steady World Cup in which they managed to hold the highly-fancied Brazilians to a draw.
Expect a Close One
So, everything points to this being an attritional game of few chances, and we expect it to be low-scoring. The stats favor the Swiss but we think this could be Ronaldo’s last hurrah on the big stage and he’ll be wanting to go out with a bang. We also think home advantage could be significant.
Our pick: Portugal to win 1-0
Once just a sports fanatic, fan-turned-writer Gary Gowers has been featured on European television and radio networks to discuss several professional football clubs. His work can be found in an assortment of publications like The Metro, MyFootballWriter.com, and BBC Radio Norfolk.
