Scotland vs Portugal predictions: Selecao to sneak a win in Glasgow

Scotland’s post-Euro 2024 hangover continues, with Steve Clarke’s side having now lost all three of their opening Nations League matches after a cruel 2-1 defeat to Croatia in Zagreb last week.

As they did in their first two matches, Scotland showed flashes of decent attacking play and a definite ability to compete with teams regarded as far better than them, but once again lapses in concentration cost them dearly after they had taken the lead thanks to a fortunate goal from Ryan Christie.

Croatia managed to turn the game around, with their first goal coming just a matter of minutes after Scotland had scored. Andrej Kramaric completed the turnaround in the 70th minute, though Scotland showed promise in some of their attacking play, with Ben Doak a particular threat on his first start.

And it was almost so much more after chaos in the Croatia box in the final minute of added time ended with Kristijan Jakic accidentally poking the ball into his own net. However, Che Adams had strayed offside in the build-up, and the goal was ruled out in the latest in a run of difficult blows to Scottish hopes.

And life doesn’t get any easier for Scotland this week, as they host Portugal at Hampden Park on Tuesday night. Steve Clarke’s men need a win to keep alive any slim hopes of staying in League A, but they face an in-form Portugal team that’s likely to include Cristiano Ronaldo, who looks determined to take another step towards 1000 top-level competitive goals.

Betting sites aren’t confident that the Scots can get a result, offering 9/2 for a Scotland win – they’ve even priced a draw at 10/3, reflecting the gap in quality between the two sides.

However, despite their opposition boasting players such as Rafael Leao, Diogo Jota, Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes, Scotland only fell to a narrow 2-1 loss in Lisbon last month. They’ll need a big performance if they’re to do better at home, but have shown they are capable of upsetting Europe’s big guns at Hampden in the past.

The reverse fixture in Lisbon in September was a close affair, with Scotland going ahead courtesy of Scott McTominay before Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo scored to turn the game on its head.

Once again, Scotland put in a positive performance but just fell short, as has been the theme of their Nations League campaign so far. However, a notable difference this time out is the home advantage offered by Hampden Park. This could help the Scots bridge the gap between the two squads somewhat, and they have already proved they can compete with the Selecao.

However, despite all this, Portugal’s superiority should tell in the end, as it did in Lisbon. Portugal have played with the shackles off in comparison to their disappointing Euro 2024 campaign, and they have two 2-1 wins to add to last week’s 3-1 win away in Poland.

The Selecao should have enough to win the game with a bit to spare, but they tend to win games by rather slim margins and it may pay to take a chance on a repeat of the scoreline witnessed in Lisbon, with a 2-1 Portugal win available at 7/1 on a couple of betting apps, including Betfred.

Scotland vs Portugal prediction 1: Portugal to win 2-1 – 7/1 Betfred

Ronaldo continues to score goals for club and country, having bagged the second in Portugal’s 3-1 win over Poland last week. The Al Nassr man seems to be hunting that 1000-goal record with the same verve that he has shown throughout his career, so don’t bet against him reaching the landmark.

This desire is probably bad news for Scotland, who conceded a goal to the ex-Real Madrid striker when the sides met in Lisbon in September. The Portuguese hit the post twice before scoring his 901st goal that day, having come off the bench at half-time.

Since then, Ronaldo has scored one goal for Portugal to add to his three goals and one assist in four games at club level. It may not be the devastating form of his LaLiga days, but the Portuguese remains one of the game’s most accomplished goalscorer, and he’ll be eager to prove it at Hampden Park.

Ronaldo has scored in all but one of the matches he’s played this season, either at international or club level, and unsuprisingly football betting sites make him the favourite to net on Tuesday night.

Portugal have plenty of other quality attackers, but it’s tough to look beyond Ronaldo scoring at Hampden Park.

Scotland vs Portugal prediction 2: Cristiano Ronaldo to score first – 6/4 Bet365

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