Portugal’s goal is to maintain their position at the top of Group J with a win over Luxembourg. The minnows of European football have struggled for years, often serving as whipping boys for top teams, but have shown significant improvement recently with an unbeaten run of six games in all competitions. However, they face a daunting task against group leaders Portugal.
Luxembourg’s coach, Luc Holtz, will hope their continued good performances can lead to a second-place finish in the group. The position appears to be up for grabs after the first round of games, but Luxembourg will need to maintain their level of play to have a chance.
Portugal is heavily favored to win and maintain their top spot in the group. New coach Roberto Martinez began his tenure with a dominant victory over Liechtenstein in Lisbon, highlighted by Cristiano Ronaldo’s two goals. Martinez is eager to finish this round of qualifiers on a high note and extend Portugal’s lead in Group J.
Luc Holtz is expected to stick with the same starting lineup that earned Luxembourg a positive result against Slovakia. Although the manager has options on the bench, he is unlikely to make any changes given the quality of the opposition they are facing at home.
Meanwhile, Roberto Martinez is likely to maintain the same back three formation he used with Belgium in his first game as Portugal’s manager. Although he has the option of starting with Rafael Leao, Ruben Neves, and Goncalo Ramos, he is unlikely to make any changes to his starting lineup for the match against Luxembourg. Martinez has shown the depth of his squad by bringing on these substitutes in the previous game.
