Overview
Portugal have won all 3 opening matches in Group F against Ukraine, Hungary and the Republic of Ireland, but they have only won 1 point in the last 2 matches. The "European Selecao" drew with Hungary in October before surprisingly losing 0-2 to the Republic of Ireland.
Troy Parrott scored a double to help Ireland win, which means Portugal must beat Armenia to secure the top spot and qualify for the World Cup next summer.
A draw is still enough if Hungary does not beat Ireland by 3 goals or more, but Portugal certainly does not want everything to depend on their opponents. Therefore, their only goal in this match will still be to win all 3 points.
Portugal have not missed the World Cup finals since 1998, and have reached the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup - their best finish in this tournament since 2006.
The "European Selecao" are also unbeaten in their last seven meetings with Armenia, including a 5-0 win in the first leg in September. However, the two teams held each other to a 1-1 draw in the EURO 2008 qualifiers in 2007.
Armenia will not have to worry about facing Cristiano Ronaldo, as the 40-year-old striker received a direct red card after a crush on Dara O'Shea of the Republic of Ireland.
Coach Yegishe Melikyan's team has shown significant progress in the last 2 matches, only losing 0-1 to Ireland and 0-1 to Hungary. They improved a lot compared to the 0-5 defeat to Portugal in the opening match.
Ukraine has never reached the World Cup or EURO finals. While Hungary and the Republic of Ireland are waiting for "assistance" from Armenia, the away team will have to face a Portugal determined to return to the track.
Personnel situation
As mentioned, Portugal will not have the service of Ronaldo after the red card he received in the match against the Republic of Ireland. This opens up a top position, which will likely be awarded to Goncalo Ramos.
Rafael Leao could also be used, while Bruno Fernandes - after serving his suspension - is expected to return to the starting lineup.
Nelson Semedo impressed when coming off the bench against Ireland and was likely to start. Roberto Martinez is expected to make some adjustments after his shaky performance in Dublin.
As for Armenia, this team has not recorded any injuries after the match against Hungary and will likely continue to use the same framework.
Eduard Spertsyan - captain and also the team's best striker with 10 goals - will certainly continue to play an important role.
Grant-Leon Ramos, a player from Borussia Monchengladbach, is also expected to keep his starting position as he tries to increase the national team's scoring record to 5.
Expected lineup:
Portugal: D. Costa, N. Semedo, Inacio, Dias, Dalot, J. Neves, Fernandes, Vitinha, Bernardo, G. Ramos, Leao.
Armenia: Avagyan, Piloyan, Muradyan, Mkrtchyan, Tiknizyan, Hovhannisyan, Muradyan, Spertsyan, Sevikyan, Ranos, Shaghoyan.
The match between Portugal and Armenia takes place at 9:00 p.m. on November 16 (Vietnam time).
