Portugal host England in their opening League A3 match in 2025 UEFA Women’s Nations League.
Victory could send Portugal or England top of the group if can better the result in Spain’s clash against Belgium.
Team News
Portugal will be without Ana Rute, Alicia Correia, Nelly Rodrigues, Kika Nazareth, Fatima Pinto and Andreia Bravo who have been left out of the squad.
England will have Lucy Parker and Chloe Kelly available after the pair were called up in place of Lotte Wubben-Moy and Beth Mead, who both withdrew from the squad due to injuries.
When is Kick-Off?
Portugal host England at Estadio Municipal de Portimão on Friday 21 February at 8:45pm CET (7:45pm UK Time), live on ITV4 in the UK.
Stat Attack
- This is Portugal’s first UEFA Women’s Nations League meeting against England.
- England are yet to lose away to Portugal in all competitions (W3, D2).
- England have kept three clean sheets in their five previous away visits to Portugal, during which they scored 13 goals and conceded three goals.
- Portugal have kept just one clean sheet in their last five matches in all competitions (W4, D1).
- England are looking to keep three consecutive clean sheets in all competitions for the first time since July 2023.
Prediction
Despite going unbeaten throughout 2024, Portugal conceded in seven of their 12 matches but didn’t face any top-quality opposition during that run so this will be a huge test of their progress against much tougher competition.
England meanwhile weren’t exactly convincing in their narrow friendly win over Switzerland in which they largely dominated but lacked much sparkle amidst a resilient defensive effort, so a huge improvement in attacking quality is needed if they are to build momentum going into a blockbuster clash against Spain.
Portugal though won’t make this easy after the pair played out a goalless draw in a pre Women’s World Cup friendly in July 2023, but England should have too much for them here.
Prediction: Portugal 1-2 England
Result: Portugal 1-1 England
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