Preview: Portugal vs. Iceland - prediction, team news, lineups

Already-qualified Portugal will bring a hugely impressive Euro 2024 qualification campaign to a close with a contest against Iceland in Lisbon on Sunday night.

Roberto Martinez's side have a perfect record in Group J, winning all nine of their games to collect 27 points, and they have already guaranteed themselves a spot in Pot 1 for the finals draw, but Iceland have missed out on the chance to qualify from this section, sitting down in fourth position.

Match preview

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There will, of course, be tougher tests to come, but Portugal head coach Martinez has made a hugely impressive start to his time at the helm, leading the team to nine straight victories.

The Iberian nation were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup courtesy of a 1-0 loss to Morocco, but they have not been beaten since that clash last December, sailing through their Euro 2024 qualification campaign with nine straight wins.

Portugal have scored 34 times and conceded just twice in the section, and they will enter this match off the back of a 2-0 success over Liechtenstein on Thursday night.

Martinez's side have already guaranteed a spot in Pot 1 for the finals draw, and it will be fascinating to see how this hugely talented group performs next summer; Portugal won Euro 2016, but they only reached the round of 16 at Euro 2020, which went down as a disappointing tournament.

The hosts will be seeking a 10th straight win on Sunday, and while there is not anything substantial to play for, Martinez will again be assessing his squad, with a number of players hoping to do enough to cement a position in the final selection of players that will head to Germany next summer.

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Iceland, though, have found it difficult in this section, boasting a record of three wins, one draw and five losses from their nine matches, which has left them down in fourth position on 10 points.

Slovakia qualified from the section alongside Portugal by recording a 4-2 win over Iceland on Thursday, while Luxembourg and Bosnia & Herzegovina have been confirmed in the playoffs.

Age Hareide's side still have a slight chance of qualifying for the finals through the UEFA Nations League B playoff path, but it will be a difficult route into the tournament from that avenue.

Our Boys famously qualified for the European Championship for the first time in their history in 2016 and managed to reach the quarter-finals of the competition, winning a lot of new supporters in the process.

Iceland also played at the 2018 World Cup, but they were not present at Euro 2020 and also failed to make the finals of the 2022 World Cup, so their likely absence from Euro 2024 is not too much of a surprise.

Team News

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Portugal boss Martinez is again expected to shuffle his pack for this match, with the team likely to show a number of changes from the one that started against Liechtenstein.

Diogo Costa could be back in goal, while Joao Palhinha, Ruben Dias, Raphael Guerreiro and Goncalo Inacio may be introduced into the XI for the contest in Lisbon.

Cristiano Ronaldo was substituted in the 67th minute against Liechtenstein after scoring, and it would not be a surprise to see him in the XI for this match, with the 38-year-old proving that he is still very much a key player for Portugal with 10 goals during the qualification campaign.

Matheus Nunes, Pepe, Rafael Leao and Nelson Semedo are notable absentees from the squad due to injuries, while Diogo Dalot withdrew from the group of players for personal reasons.

As for Iceland, Arnor Traustason was forced off in the 25th minute of the clash with Slovakia last time out through injury, and he will be unavailable for selection here.

As a result, Aron Gunnarsson could potentially come in for a start, while there are also expected to be a couple of alterations in the forward positions for this match.

Arnor Sigurdsson could keep his spot, but Alfred FInnbogason and Andri Gudjohnsen are likely to be introduced in the final third of the field on Sunday night.

Portugal possible starting lineup:

Costa; Cancelo, Inacio, Dias, Guerreiro; Fernandes, Palhinha, B Silva; Felix, Ronaldo, Jota

Iceland possible starting lineup:

Olafsson; Sampsted, Palsson, Ingason, Finnsson; Hlynsson, Gudmundsson, Gunnarsson; A Gudjohnsen, Finnbogason, A Sigurdsson

We say: Portugal 2-0 Iceland

The pressure is off for both teams, so it should be an open and entertaining game of football. Iceland are capable of making it a difficult match for Portugal, but the home side have been so strong in this section, and we would be very surprised if they were unable to make it 10 straight victories.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.