Portugal might consider themselves somewhat unfortunate to be competing in the World Cup play-offs considering that they were the best performing runner-up when it came to qualifying. After losing to Belgium at the delayed Euro 2020, they then focused on topping their section to reach Qatar and were involved in a final game clash against Serbia.
Despite the Portuguese taking an early lead, a late Aleksandar Mitrovic winner meant that Santos’ side have to roll the dice in this clash and there are no certainties that they are going to make it to the World Cup. Previously to losing against the Serbs, they were held to a goalless draw away to Republic of Ireland and it’s clear that team don’t look as good on the pitch as you might think on paper.
After all, few countries can call upon the match-winning prowess of Cristiano Ronaldo along with the fact that Bruno Fernandes, Joao Felix, Bernardo Silva, Ruben Neves, Renato Sanches and Joao Cancelo are also available. However, the blend has been difficult to achieve in the past couple of years.
Portugal Big Betting Favourites to Beat Turkey
The top football betting sites are taking no chances with their Portugal match odds and they can draw on home advantage and big match experience when clashing with Turkey. Some customers might be keen to include the Portuguese in their World Cup football accumulators although this is a high stakes game and perhaps the game could be tight.
The prowess of Ronaldo is still unquestionable despite a mixed season for Manchester United although the team are clearly not as strong defensively as they are when going forward. The 4-2 defeat against a modest Germany side during Euro 2020 was especially telling and Serbia’s comeback will give Turkey hope that they can achieve a similar result.
Can Turkey Pull Off a World Cup Play-Off Shock?
There is the proverbial mountain to climb for Turkey if they are to reach the 2022 World Cup and it is also clear that this nation were one of the under-performing teams at Euro 2020 last summer. Four wins, three draws and a defeat saw them low down in the standings and their unseeded status in the play-off draw means they now clash with Portugal.
Stefan Kuntz must try and mastermind a victory over Portugal before a likely final clash against Italy, with the bookies making them big outsiders to win this semi-final encounter. If you compare the latest World Cup betting odds, you can see that Turkey are trading as big as 8/1 to win this clash and they have a puncher’s chance of lining up in the final.
Perhaps being underdogs will suit the team well and they finished second in their World Cup qualifying group, with the Netherlands pipping them by two points although Turkey won six and drew three of their ten group games. The biggest concern was the fact that the Turks were hammered 6-1 by the Dutch in September and that implies that they could be vulnerable against a team like Portugal.
What Are the Best Bets for Portugal v Turkey?
It’s always hard to judge form lines when it comes to the fact that international teams haven’t played for several months. We are leaning towards Portugal enjoying a comprehensive victory in this clash and the fact that they have home advantage puts Fernando Santos’ team in a commanding position.
Santos has lots of experience when it comes to these situations and Cristiano Ronaldo is someone who can steel the team to greater heights. We think that while Portugal are a short price to win, they are a perfectly good selection when it comes to placing a football accumulator bet.
As for the match itself, Ronaldo is a reasonable First Goalscorer or Anytime Goalscorer option, with Portugal to win and both teams to score potentially the right order. Turkey might have to go for broke if they fall behind and we might possibly see an open clash in Porto.