Summary
The Euro 2016 Champions Portugal have never won the FIFA World Cup. The 37-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo will visit Qatar to give it one last shot to win the World Cup for the first time in his career and his country.
Qatar’s draw for the World Cup 2022 has been done; all the groups, brackets, and fixtures are set. Here in this article, we will predict Portugal’s potential opponents in the Qatar World Cup and try to figure out their Round of 16, Quarter-Finals, and Semi-Finals opponents, should they advance.
What to expect from Portugal in the World Cup 2022?
Portugal is one of the hot favorites to win the FIFA World Cup 2022 because of the star-studded squad depth they have.
Fernando Santos has excellent young talents and notable veterans at his disposal. Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandez, Joao Felix, and Diogo Jota in the attack, Bernardo Silva in midfield, Ruben Dias and Joao Cancelo in the defense, Portugal is undoubtedly one of the finest squads that will visit Qatar.
We could certainly expect this might be Ronaldo’s year to bring the honor home from Qatar. This might be Portugal’s year to show the World they had everything to win the FIFA World Cup.
The previous two World Cup campaigns had not been good for Cristiano Ronaldo. They have defeated 2-1 goals by Uruguay in the Round of 16 of the 2018 World Cup. Their journey ended on the group stage in the Brazil World Cup 2014.
Moreover, the Euro 2020 (held in 2021) didn’t go as planned for Portugal. Their Euro journey ended in the Round of 16 following a 1-0 goal defeat against Belgium, despite Cristiano Ronaldo being the joint top scorer with 5 goals.
Portugal have qualified for the World Cup 2022 after going through the playoffs. They finished second in Group A, behind Serbia, and were pushed into the playoff. In the playoffs, Portugal beat Turkey and North Macedonia to claim their spot in Qatar’s FIFA World Cup 2022.
Currently the 8th best team in the world, according to FIFA rankings, Portugal will surely give it their best shot to win the World Cup this time.
Portugal’s Group and Match Schedule in World Cup 2022
The FIFA World Cup 2022 will be held in Qatar in November. The groups, brackets, fixtures, and schedule for this colossal event are already set. Portugal is in Group H, Ghana, Uruguay, and the Korea Republic.
World Cup Group of Portugal
| Group G | Group H |
| Brazil | Portugal |
| Serbia | Ghana |
| Switzerland | Uruguay |
| Cameroon | Korea Republic |
The top two teams will qualify for Round 16 from each group – group winners and runners-up. Every team will play 3 matches in the Group Stage. A win brings 3 points, a draw 1, and no points for a defeat.
The Group H winners will play the runners-up of Group G in the Round of 16, and the Group H runners-up will play the Group G winners. Hence, H1 vs. G2 and H2 vs. G1 in the Round of 16.
Match Schedule, Kickoff Time, Venue
Portugal will go underway in the World Cup 2022 against Ghana. Cristiano Ronaldo and co. should get a comfortable win in their first match to get a boost ahead of the vital clash against Uruguay.
They will face Uruguay in their second match, which should be the most crucial battle of Group H and the decider of the group winners. Portugal will finish the group stage by facing the Korea Republic.
Let’s check out Portugal’s match schedule, kickoff time, and venue for the Qatar World Cup 2022.
All the times are in GMT to convert them easily into your local time.
| Match | Date | Kickoff Time | Venue |
| Portugal vs. Ghana | Thursday, 24 November 2022 | 4:00 pm GMT | Stadium 974 |
| Portugal vs. Uruguay | Monday, 28 November 2022 | 7:00 pm GMT | Lusail Stadium |
| Portugal vs. Korea Republic | Friday, 2 December 2022 | 3:00 pm GMT | Education City Stadium |
Who will be the Round of 16 Opponents for Portugal in the World Cup 2022?
We have analyzed the groups, paths, and brackets along with the teams’ strengths and forms to predict the possible opponent for Portugal in the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup 2022, Qatar.
We all like to think positively about our favorite teams. Maybe you are thinking about the potential opponents of Portugal in the Qatar World Cup 2022. You are at the right place. Let’s discuss Portugal’s World Cup chances.
Portugal’s World Cup brackets involve the groups E, F, G, and H till the quarter-finals. So, they cannot face any team from groups A, B, C, and D before the semi-finals.
Portugal is in Group H. The Group H winners will play the runners-up of Group G in the Round of 16, and the Group H runners-up will play the Group G winners. Hence, H1 vs. G2 and H2 vs. G1 in the Round of 16.
Group H will be a tricky group for its teams. With the physicality of Ghana, and the high-flying football of Heung Min Son and company, we might see an upset in Group H.
The battle between Portugal and Uruguay should be the most crucial in this group, deciding Group H winners. Our experts predict that Portugal should defeat Uruguay in this World Cup and take revenge for their previous World Cup defeat. We pick Portugal as the winner of Group H (H1).
Uruguay should claim the runners-up spot (H2) in Group H after a close competition with the Korea Republic in the points table.
The Group H winners and runners-up will face the runners-up and winners of Group G, respectively. So, Portugal’s Round of 16 opponents can be any team from Group G.
- H1 G2
- H2 G1
Now, Group G consists of Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, and Cameroon. This group would be the toughest one with so many good teams. Nonetheless, Brazil is the favorite to win Group G (G1).
Serbia and Switzerland both have excellent qualifying campaigns for this World Cup. Serbia finished top of Group A, ahead of Portugal, in the UEFA World Cup qualifiers. On the other hand, Switzerland finished top of Group C, ahead of Italy, in the UEFA World Cup qualifiers. Serbia vs. Switzerland match should be crucial to decide the runners-up of Group G. We pick Serbia as the runners-up of Group G (G2).
So, Portugal’s Round of 16 opponent should be Serbia, if not Switzerland or even Brazil, Qatar, in the World Cup 2022.
| Match No. | Match |
| 56 | H1 (Portugal) vs. G2 (Serbia), |
| 54 | H2 (Uruguay) vs. G1 (Brazil) |
If Portugal slips and finishes second in Group H, there will be a strong possibility of Brazil vs. Portugal in the Round of 16. Again, we will see Brazil vs. Portugal if Portugal tops group H and Brazil slips for G2.
However, we predict Portugal will play either Serbia or Switzerland in the Round of 16 of the World Cup 2022, should they qualify according to our picks.
Related:
Germany in World Cup 2022: Schedule, Bracket, Potential Opponents
Who can be Portugal’s Quarter-Final Opponent in the World Cup 2022?
Now, we will pick from too far ahead of time. Let’s analyze the brackets and find Portugal’s potential opponents in the World Cup.
Portugal’s quarter-final opponent will be among the following brackets.
- Match no. 53 (E1 vs. F2) vs. Match no. 54 (H2 vs. G1). When Portugal finishes second in Group H and wins against the winners of Group G (in the Round of 16) for a spot in the quarter-finals.
- Match no. 55 (E2 vs. F1) vs. Match no. 56 (H1 vs. G2). When Portugal wins Group H and wins against the runners-up of Group G (in the Round of 16) for a spot in the quarter-finals.
So, if Portugal wins in the match, no. 56 in the Round-of-16 stage, which should be against Serbia according to our picks, they will face the winners of E2 vs. F1 in the quarter-finals. Let’s check out Group E and Group F at this point.
| Group group | Group F |
| Spain | Belgium (F1 according to our prediction) |
| Costa Rica or New Zealand | Canada |
| Germany (E2 according to our forecast) | Morocco |
| Japan | Croatia |
As things stand, the match no. 55 in the Round of 16 should be Germany (E2) vs. Belgium (F1). We predict Germany should win this tie for a spot in the quarter-finals. Hence, if Portugal wins in the match, no. 56, which should be against Serbia according to our picks; they will face Germany in the quarter-finals.
In the same way, if Spain finishes as E2 in Group E, the match no. 55 in the Round of 16 should be Spain (E2) vs. Belgium (F1). In that case, we predict Portugal will face Spain in the quarter-finals of the World Cup 2022.
- Portugal’s Probable Quarter-Final Opponent: Winners of 55 vs. Winners of 56, which should be Germany/Spain and Portugal, according to our picks.
However, suppose Portugal finishes second in the group as H2 and beats Brazil (G1) in the Round of 16 to play in the quarter-finals. They could meet the winners of E1 vs. F2 in the quarter-finals, which could be Spain/Germany or Canada/Croatia.
Hence, in either way, if Portugal goes through to the quarter-finals, their probable opponent can be Germany, Spain, or even Belgium, should they all qualify according to our picks.
Who can be Portugal’s Semi-Final Opponent in the World Cup 2022?
The World Cup brackets confirm that Portugal will not face anyone from groups A, B, C, and D, including Netherlands, England, Argentina, or France, before Semi-Finals.
So, Portugal’s semi-final opponent can be any team among the Netherlands, England, Argentina, and France in Qatar’s FIFA World Cup 2022.
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