Portugal v Scotland: Sorry Scotland to lose again | OneFootball

Bruno Fernandes is a regular source of goals and assists for Portugal

After landing his headline bet from Scotland's defeat to Poland, Kevin Hatchard's back with two more selections as Steve Clarke's men face a daunting trip to Portugal...

Portugal v ScotlandSunday 08 September, 19:45Live on ITV4

Ronaldo heroics muddy the water further

In Thursday's 2-1 Nations League win over Croatia, Cristiano Ronaldo fired in his 900th career goal, and promptly burst into tears. While you have to marvel at the extraordinary longevity of the 39-year-old, it was yet another example of the absurd drama he brings with him. If anything, Ronaldo has cranked the emotion and the self-absorption up a gear recently, and it's left his manager Roberto Martinez a full paid-up member of the cult of personality.

At Euro 2024, Ronaldo played the full 120 minutes in the knockout ties against Slovenia and France. Both ended 0-0, and while Portugal won the first on spot-kicks, they lost the second. The former Real Madrid and Manchester United star failed to score a single goal in five Euro 2024 appearances, and Martinez' failure to sub him in the knockout rounds posed serious questions about his leadership.

Martinez says all the right things about Ronaldo having to earn his minutes, but when push comes to shove, there's little evidence that the former Belgium boss is in control. While there's no doubting Ronaldo's incredible record at international level (a record-breaking 131 goals in 213 caps), Martinez needs to use this national icon more judiciously as we build towards the 2026 World Cup.

The supporting cast is stellar, with Diogo Jota, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Pedro Neto and Rafael Leao all competing for spots in attack. Diogo Dalot scored at both ends against Croatia, and the Manchester United right-back hopes to see off the challenge of Nelson Semedo.

Scotland recovering from self-inflicted wounds

To mangle an Oscar Wilde quote, giving away one penalty in a game could be said to be misfortune, but giving away two looks like carelessness. There were some positives to take from Scotland's 3-2 home defeat against Poland on Thursday night, but defensive bloopers wiped away any hopes of a positive result.

A clumsy lunge from Tony Ralston in the first half conceded the first spot-kick from which the Scots went 2-0 down, and Grant Hanley's lack of discipline in stoppage-time was beyond belief. The experienced defender hacked down Nicola Zalewski, and to his horror Zalewski dusted himself down and smashed in the winning goal.

That all means that Scotland have now won just one of their last 13 internationals, and that was a 2-0 victory in Gibraltar. Across those 13 games, Steve Clarke's men have leaked an eye-watering 31 goals. They have conceded at least two goals nine times, at least three goals six times, and four or more goals on three occasions.

Considering their lack of match practice while sorting their respective moves to Napoli, Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour did pretty well, scoring Scotland's goals against Poland. McTominay now has an impressive 10 international goals in 53 caps, and nine of those have come since the start of 2023.

The increasingly embattled Clarke tried to put a brave face on Thursday's defeat, praising his players' attitude and energy, but he admitted that individual errors had cost his team. Clarke isn't expected to make many changes, and Hanley and Ralston may start despite their mistakes. Liverpool winger Ben Doak impressed as a substitute, but isn't expected to start here. Lyndon Dykes missed a big chance against Poland, and is being pushed hard for the striker's role by Lawrence Shankland.

Portugal to net entertaining win

Scotland's defensive struggles make them a tasty morsel for this talented Portugal team to gobble up, and it's worth noting that the Selecao have won 12 of their 19 games in the Nations League since its emergence in 2018. Portugal take this competition seriously (they were its first winners), and they'll show the struggling Scots no mercy here.

I'll back Portugal to win, Over 2.5 Goals and Bruno Fernandes to either score or assist at 7/5 on the Sportsbook's Bet Builder. According to fbRef.com, Fernandes has had an impressive 43 goal involvements in 72 caps, and he set up club-mate Diogo Dalot's goal on Thursday.

Gunn to be outgunned

Scotland are likely to persist with goalkeeper Angus Gunn, and I would suggest the Norwich stopper is in for a busy evening in Lisbon. He was beaten by all three efforts on target against Poland, but I expect him to have to make some stops on Sunday. Portugal had six shots on target against Croatia, and 15 goal attempts in total, and Scotland have shown little evidence recently that they can be solid.

I'll back the Scotland keeper to make three or more saves, Portugal to win and Anthony Ralston to commit at least one foul at 8/5 on the Bet Builder. Ralston could be up against the fleet-footed Rafael Leao, and the Celtic full-back has often been exposed at international level.

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