Ronaldo's Portugal take on Czech Republic

Portugal and Czech Republic meet in Uefa Nations League Group A2 on Thursday.

Possible line-ups

Portugal: Rui Patrício; Dalot, Domingos Duarte, Pepe, Nuno Mendes; Palhinha, William, Bernardo Silva; Matheus Nunes, Rafael Leão, Ronaldo

Czech Republic: Stanek; Zima, Brabec, Mateju; Coufal, Sadílek, Soucek, Havel; Cerný, Kuchta, Lingr

Form guide

Portugal (most recent match first): WDWWLD
Czech Republic (most recent match first): DWDLWW

Group A2 so far

02/06: Spain 1-1 Portugal
02/06: Czech Republic 2-1 Switzerland
05/06: Portugal 4-0 Switzerland
05/06: Czech Republic 2-2 Spain

Expert prediction

Carlos Machado, match reporter: The teams go into this level at the top of Group A2, and Portugal are strong favourites to go it alone at the summit. Cristiano Ronaldo looked sharp in Sunday's 4-0 triumph over Switzerland, but the Czechs will surely not afford the Manchester United forward the same freedom he enjoyed at the weekend. The plot of sitting back and hitting on the counter has certainly served the Czechs well so far.

What the coaches say

Fernando Santos, Portugal coach: "We will need to be patient, we'll have to be attentive. The Czechs were beating Spain and earned a draw in the end, and they beat Switzerland. It was not all by chance. Individual creativity will also be important. They are well organised and compact defensively. We need to be patient and wait for the right moment. We will not change our philosophy, though; we want to impose ourselves on the game."

Jaroslav Šilhavý, Czech Republic: "There won't be many changes [against Portugal]; we won't have a whole new XI, but Jindra Stanek will be in goal. Our opponents are really very good, but we don't just want to defend. We have already shown with Spain that we can be dangerous on the break. Would it be better for us if Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t play? Playing against a player like Ronaldo is an experience and the boys will want to take him on."

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