Comments and predictions for Portugal vs Ireland: Big win at home
The match between Portugal vs Ireland in the World Cup qualifiers takes place at 1:45 a.m. on October 12. Nghe An Newspaper, Radio and Television analyzes performance, makes football comments and predicts the score.
Latest Portugal vs Ireland squad information
Portugal will be without Joao Neves (PSG) and Joao Cancelo (Al-Hilal) due to hamstring injuries. Coach Roberto Martinez has called up Nuno Tavares (Lazio) as an additional player, but Nuno Mendes is expected to start at left-back. The right-back position will be a competition between Nelson Semedo and Diogo Dalot.
In midfield, Manchester United and Manchester City captains Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva are likely to start alongside Vitinha.
Cristiano Ronaldo, at 40, remains the Selecão's centrepiece. He has scored three goals in two 2026 World Cup qualifiers and has found the net four times in five previous encounters against Ireland.
For the Republic of Ireland, the injury list is quite long with Matt Doherty, Jason Knight, Bosun Lawal, Callum O'Dowda and Sammie Szmodics all absent. The last two players were forced to withdraw just last week.
Doherty's absence paves the way for the return of captain Seamus Coleman after more than a year out, and he will compete for the right-back spot with Chiedozie Ogbene.
Centre-back John Egan (Hull City) was recalled for the first time since September 2023, but he will likely be on the bench behind Nathan Collins, Dara O'Shea and Jake O'Brien.
Striker Troy Parrott is also back from injury, having been called up after appearing for AZ Alkmaar last weekend. He will undergo further medical checks to determine his availability for the Portugal game.
Latest expected lineup for Portugal vs Ireland
Portugal:
Costa; Dalot, Dias, Inacio, Mendes; Bernardo, Vitinha, Fernandes; Conceicao, Ronaldo, Neto
Republic of Ireland:
Kelleher; O'Brien, O'Shea, Collins; Ogbene; Cullen, Knight, Manning; Taylor, Azaz; Ferguson
Latest football commentary Portugal vs Ireland
After winning their second UEFA Nations League title in June, Portugal continued their impressive form by starting their World Cup qualifying campaign with back-to-back wins over Armenia and Hungary, scoring a total of eight goals.
The “Seleção das Quinas” opened with a 5-0 win away to Armenia, before Joao Cancelo scored in the 86th minute to help them overcome Hungary 3-2 in a thrilling away match.
Coach Roberto Martinez said his team are “aiming for the dream” of winning the World Cup for the first time in their history, while stressing that he “believes in numbers”, especially the number 6 – a nod to their third-place finish at the 1966 World Cup and their Euro 2016 triumph.
Ranked 5th in the world in the FIFA rankings, Portugal have secured a place in the World Cup play-offs thanks to the Nations League title, but they still have a big advantage in the race for the top spot in Group F, as they are currently three points ahead of the team below.
Martinez's side are looking for a sixth straight win in all competitions. With consistent form and a superior head-to-head record — winning three and drawing one of their last four meetings with the Republic of Ireland — they have reason to be confident heading into this weekend's game.
On the other side, the Republic of Ireland have not returned to the World Cup since 2006 and are having a difficult time on the journey to the 2026 World Cup after only getting one point in the first two matches of Group F.
The Boys in Green drew 2-2 with Hungary despite being two goals down in their opening match, but then lost 1-2 away to Armenia — a team 45 places below them in the FIFA rankings.
Coach Heimir Hallgrimsson and his players admitted their disappointment, with midfielder Finn Azaz saying the team “understand that we have let the fans down and ourselves down”.
Ireland will have a chance to get revenge on Armenia in the return leg next Tuesday, but first they face a challenging trip to Lisbon — where they have never beaten Portugal in six previous visits (D1 L5).
Ireland's away form has also been poor: they have won just two of their last eight internationals (D1 L5) and failed to score in four of those.
Latest Portugal vs Ireland score prediction
Based on the above football comments, we and the world's leading football sites have given the results of the match.Portugal vs Irelandas follows:
- Sportsmole:Portugal 3-1 Ireland
- WhoScore:Portugal 4-1 Ireland
- We predict:Portugal 3-0 Ireland
When and where to watch Portugal vs Ireland live?
To watch live the Portugal vs Ireland match in the World Cup qualifiers taking place at 1:45 a.m. on October 12, viewers can watch onK+ Sport,K+PMor online sports channels. Wish you have fun watching football.
