Iran may be likely to head out the tournament, but they know they have the firepower to produce a major surprise. With a lot of striking strength in their side, they should feel pretty comfortable about being able to make chances. Can the Iran defence keep the enigmatic Cristiano Ronaldo quiet, though?
Iran News
Iran will be looking to try and at least get a draw, and we expect them to go quite solid with that in mind. Omid Ebrahimi will likely play, while Alireza Jahanbakhsh will be the main outlet in attack. His pace and dribbling quality is outstanding and he could offer Team Melli an outlet.
Roozbeh Cheshmi, though, will miss out most likely. This will leave Iran more likely to try and find some kind of solid formation. We expect them to look sit and break, instead leaving Portugal to have the ball.
Portugal News
Portugal, though, aren’t best suited to being the dominant party in games. They left Morocco with the ball last time out, and nearly were punished for it in a big way. Bruno Fernandes will probably come in to try give them a killer ball, with Ronaldo likely to try and play on the break.
However, with Iran likely to sit in and leave them to make the chances, there may not be the space that Portugal like to play in. with Raphael Guerreiro likely to play, too, he’ll need to show more than he did in a shocking display against Morocco.
Verdict
Portugal will win, we think, but it won’t be pretty. Both sides are quite similar in that they have firepower on the break. With both sides likely to try let the other give up spaces, it’s going to be about who makes the most of the few chances they get.