The Portuguese team entered the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign with an excited mind after just winning the UEFA Nations League.
Under coach Roberto Martinez, the "European Selecao" has proven their mettle in big matches. They beat Germany in the semi-finals before beating Spain on penalties in the Nations League final.
This achievement helps strengthen the belief that Portugal has enough depth and class to become a strong candidate for the 2026 World Cup championship. However, they still need to complete the task of qualifying for the Azerbaijan qualifiers, where Ukraine will be the first challenge.
Portugal's biggest weakness is in defense, when they have conceded 9 goals in the last 10 matches. Armenia, with home advantage and support from the audience, could have found a goal. Especially when spearheads like Spertsyan or Zelarayan are still capable of creating breakthroughs.
However, Armenia is going through a difficult period. The Kavkaz team has only won 1/9 recent matches, which was a 2-1 victory over Latvia. They also disappointed when they lost to the Faroe Islands in the Nations League, and continuously suffered heavy defeats against Kosovo and Georgia.
Despite having a few outstanding individuals such as Spertsyan, Zelarayan or Barseghyan, Armenia generally lacks stability and finds it difficult to create a surprise against a classy opponent like Portugal.
Ukraine has never played in a major international tournament as an independent country. They will enter the match against Portugal as a lower goal.
However, the memory of an impressive confrontation against Portugal - a narrow 2-3 defeat at home in the EURO 2016 qualifiers - can still give Melikyan's team a little more confidence.
Link to watch the match between Ukraine and Portugal live:
https://tv360.vn/tv/tv360-plus-4?ch=2458&ev=61615&es=1&col=banner§=BANNER&page=home
