Slovakia will host Portugal at Bratislava's Teherne Bole Stadium in Friday night's Euro 2024 qualifying Group J top-of-the-table clash. Slovakia have now amassed 12 points from four wins in the group stage with excellent performances, while their opponents Portugal are just two points behind and could overtake their more accomplished rivals if they take all three points this week.
Slovakia have been seeking a third consecutive appearance in the final round of the European Championships, having reached the last 16 of the 2016 tournament before being eliminated at the group stage of the 2020 tournament. They have stabilized in the top two in Group J of the competition. Although they only managed a draw against Luxembourg, they won their next matches against Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Liechtenstein, conceding only one goal.
On the other hand, Portugal scored 12 points, 14 goals and kept a clean sheet in their four matches in the Euro qualifiers. They didn't play well in Iceland, but they relied on Cristiano Ronaldo's goal to secure a 1-0 victory.
Looking at the all-time head-to-head record, Portugal have only lost one of their 19 matches, and that was against Ukraine in 2019. They have managed to remain unbeaten in four matches against Slovakia, the most recent being a 2-0 win in a 2006 World Cup qualifier in which Cristiano Ronaldo was the scorer of the match at the time.
Combining the two sides' recent performances, Slovakia are unbeaten in Euro qualifying with three wins and one draw, and three wins and three draws in all competitions. Portugal are on a four-match winning streak in Euro qualifying, with four wins and two losses in all competitions.
Predicted match result, Slovakia 0-2 Portugal. Both Slovakia and Portugal have proved their defensive prowess in the early stages of the qualifiers, though, and Portugal will face their toughest test to date in Bratislava, despite their hard work in their recent success against Iceland. However, the hosts' glaring lack of firepower could be their downfall, while Portugal could make it five wins in a row in style, and could well add another shutout victory to their tally.
