10.14 Hungary’s away game was unlucky, Portugal’s Estadio Dragon vowed to score three points and qualify early.

Pre-match situation

The group situation is very different

In Group F of this world preliminaries, Portugal showed absolute dominance. They maintained a complete victory in the first three games, scoring 9 goals and conceding only 2 goals, easily leading the group with a 5-point advantage.

After coach Martinez took charge, Portugal remained undefeated in 12 games in the UEFA Nations League and World Cup preliminaries, conceding only 0.4 goals per game on the defensive end.

Hungary ranks second in the group. It has 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss in the first three games and has 4 points, only 1 point ahead of third-placed Armenia.

Hungary's away performance is particularly poor. The winning rate in the past 10 away games is only 20%, and the final losing rate is as high as 100% when lagging behind in the away game.

Historical confrontations

The historical confrontations between the two teams presented a one-sided situation. In the 15 meetings between the two sides, Portugal maintained an unbeaten record of 11 wins and 4 draws.

Portugal has won 8 of the last 9 matches, and has won all the last 4 matches, including a 3-2 win over Hungary in the first leg of this World Cup preliminaries away from home.

In that game, Portugal relied on right wing back Cancelo's goal to win the away game. The whole process was thrilling, and it also exposed Hungary's counterattack ability that cannot be underestimated.

Tactical Analysis

Portugal's winning formula

Portugal is expected to use a 4-3-3 attacking formation, controlling the rhythm through the midfielder connection between B fee and B seat.

The offensive end focuses on low crosses from the wing and set-piece attacks. The wing composed of Cancelo and Mendes has the advantage of crossing.

When encountering Hungary's dense defense, Portugal may let Joao Mario take the lead and form a pseudo-three midfielder to compress the passing space of Hungary's core Szoboszlai.

This adjustment helped Portugal reduce the opponent's long pass success rate from 42% to 28% against the Czech Republic.

Hungary's response

Hungary is likely to adopt a 5-3-2 intensive defensive formation, relying on Szoboszlai's long pass and Varga's fulcrum role to counterattack.

When defending, they will shrink to 5-4-1 and use their double midfielders to intercept to curb Portugal's penetration in the middle.

Set kicks may be Hungary's way of breaking the game. They adopt the tactic of "fighting for the top from the front + outflanking from the back", and the set kicks account for 30% of the points.

Focus Player

Portugal-Cristiano Ronaldo

Although he missed a penalty kick in the last game, Ronaldo has scored in every game against Hungary 4 times in his career, scoring 7 goals in total.

As the top scorer in the history of the World Cup preliminaries (39 goals, tied for first), Ronaldo's sense of the penalty area is still Portugal's most reliable weapon to break games.

Hungary-Szoboszlai

As the core of Hungary's midfield, his performance is crucial. However, this season he has played more as a right back in the club, and his ability to create opportunities has declined. He has only one assist in the past three World Cup qualifying games.

Highlights of the game

Hungarian forwards Varga and Saraj have returned from suspension, which will enhance their frontcourt offensive options. But Varga’s grasp was not what was expected.

Portugal has a clear advantage in depth of substitutes - Leo has averaged 1.2 successful breakthroughs per game this season, which can impact Hungary's declining defense; Ramos has contributed 2 goals as a substitute in the past 3 games and is good at seizing opportunities in chaos.

Looking at Hungary, substitute players have only contributed 3 goals this season, and most of them are insignificant goals. It is difficult to contribute at critical moments.

Potential rainy weather in Lisbon on the day of the game may benefit Portugal - its players have more delicate foot skills and their ball control error rate (8%) on slippery surfaces is lower than Hungary (15%).

Result Prediction

Taking into account all factors, Portugal has obvious advantages in terms of strength, status, and historical confrontations. Coupled with the advantage of home court, there is little suspense about victory.

Although Hungary may score goals through counterattacks or set pieces, Portugal's solid defensive system makes it more likely to win at home.

The night sky at the Dragon Stadium will be ignited by the enthusiasm of the Portuguese fans. Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates will not miss the opportunity to show their strength in front of the home fans. Although Hungary will defend with all its strength, it may not be able to escape defeat in the face of Portugal's smooth offensive. Tonight, let’s see how Portugal performs their beautiful football!

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