Portugal - Switzerland: Ronaldo speaks?

* Portugal - Switzerland: 2:00 on December 7, on VnEpxress.

Controversy over whether Cristiano Ronaldo should be continued by coach Fernando Santos in the starting line-up is raging ahead of the match against Switzerland. The 37-year-old superstar somehow made a mistake in Korea's 1-1 equalizer in the last leg of Group G and missed an opportunity that led to a goal. In a recent survey by ABola, 70% of Portuguese fans do not even want Ronaldo in the starting XI.

However, this possibility is unlikely as coach Santos rarely changes his preferred staff in important matches.

The problem for Portugal right now is the defense. Along with Senegal, Australia and South Korea, the representative of the Iberian peninsula has conceded four goals - the most of the 16 teams present in the 1/8 round. In the three matches in Group H, the defender quartet is also the place where Mr. Santos shuffles the most. Pepe, who played a key role at Euro 2020 when he featured in all four of Portugal's matches at the tournament, was not trusted in the two matches against Ghana and Uruguay.

The Euro 2016 champion is therefore relying on the strength of the front line with the presence of the top attacking stars in Europe. Although not in high form, no one can underestimate Ronaldo - who owns the record for the most goals at the team level and has scored in five consecutive World Cups. Besides, the stable performance of Bruno Fernandes. The Man Utd midfielder currently owns two goals and two assists.

But Switzerland also has the opportunity to surprise at Lusail today, as they did when they beat Portugal 1-0 in their last encounter in the Nations League on June 13. "The opponent is rated higher, but we have seen many underdogs win a favorable result at the 2022 World Cup," said 31-year-old Swiss midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri. "Similarly when Australia meets Argentina, Switzerland won't let Portugal play the way they want."

After scoring against Serbia, Shaqiri became the first Swiss player to score in three different World Cups - matching Ronaldo's and Messi's achievements.

Switzerland has not reached the quarterfinals since 1954 when the World Cup was held at home. While Portugal has only twice passed the 1/8 round. Through 25 encounters between the two teams, Switzerland is dominant head-to-head when winning 11, drawing 5 matches and losing 9 matches. Before the next match, coach Murat Yakin's team will welcome the return of goalkeeper Yann Sommer and defender Nico Elvedi after recovering from the flu.

Meanwhile, Portugal is likely to lose two key defenders, including Nuno Mendes and Danilo Perreira, both to injuries. It is expected that Raphael Guerreiro will replace Mendes at left-back, while Pepe will replace Danilo as a central defender pairing with Ruben Dias.

The last time Portugal won in 90 minutes in a knock-out match was 16 years ago, when the "European Selecao" overcame the Netherlands in the round of 16 of the 2006 World Cup.

Switzerland has never won more than two victories at a World Cup, however, history will turn page if the country team can surprise Portugal's unstable defence. The 1-2 defeat to South Korea was the first time Portugal had lost by scoring first at the World Cup.

With the status of one of the main contenders for the championship, Portugal was predicted by the Stats Performance supercomputer to have a winning rate of 51.5%, while for Switzerland it was 21.7%. From past statistics, the upcoming match is likely to go into extra time with a rate of 26.8%.