Familiar foes Portugal and Switzerland will renew hostilities in their World Cup 2022 last-16 battle at Lusail Iconic Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Fernando Santos's side qualified as Group H winners with six points from their three matches, despite falling to a 2-1 defeat to South Korea in their most recent outing.
Meanwhile, Murat Yakin's side edged a bad-tempered clash with Switzerland 3-2 to seal a second-placed finish in Group F behind Brazil, fending off competition from Cameroon in the process.
As close UEFA rivals, Portugal and Switzerland have unsurprisingly met several times down the years, and Tuesday's game will represent the 26th showdown between the two sides in all competitions.
The Rossocrotiati actually lead the head-to-head record against their more esteemed opponents, picking up 11 victories, five draws and nine defeats from their 21 encounters so far.
© Reuters
Portugal and Switzerland first did battle in qualifying for the 1938 World Cup, which ended in a 2-1 success for Nati in the first of three successive wins against A Selecao, who had to wait until 1942 for their inaugural win in a friendly match.
However, Portugal would only post a paltry three victories from their first 15 matches against Switzerland, and they would meet in a major tournament again at Euro 2008, where a double from Hakan Yakin - brother of manager Murat - saw the Rossocrociati win 2-0.
Both sides would then record a 2-0 win in qualifying for the 2018 World Cup before locking horns in the semi-finals of the 2018-19 Nations League, where Cristiano Ronaldo struck a hat-trick to seal a 3-1 win for A Selecao.
The two close foes would return to battle again in the Nations League in June, where Ronaldo added another two goals to his total in a 4-0 thumping, but Switzerland responded with a 1-0 victory only a week later courtesy of Haris Seferovic's 55th-second winner.
Interestingly, both Portugal and Switzerland have amassed a total of 34 goals apiece in their 25 meetings so far, and Tuesday's meeting will be anything but a cakewalk for the Ronaldo-led Selecao.
PORTUGAL VS. SWITZERLAND HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
Portugal wins: 9
Switzerland wins: 11
Draws: 5
Portugal goals: 34
Switzerland goals: 34
MATCH HISTORY
May 1, 1938: Portugal 1-2 Switzerland (World Cup)
November 6, 1938: Switzerland 1-0 Portugal (International friendly)
February 12, 1939: Portugal 2-4 Switzerland (International friendly)
January 1, 1942: Portugal 3-0 Switzerland (International friendly)
May 21, 1945: Switzerland 1-0 Portugal (International friendly)
January 5, 1947: Portugal 2-2 Switzerland (International friendly)
May 16, 1959: Switzerland 4-3 Portugal (International friendly)
April 29, 1964: Switzerland 2-3 Portugal (International friendly)
April 16, 1969: Portugal 0-2 Switzerland (World Cup)
November 2, 1969: Switzerland 1-1 Portugal (World Cup)
November 13, 1974: Switzerland 3-0 Portugal (International friendly)
March 30, 1977: Portugal 1-0 Switzerland (International friendly)
March 24, 1982: Switzerland 2-1 Portugal (International friendly)
October 29, 1986: Switzerland 1-1 Portugal (European Championship)
November 11, 1987: Portugal 0-0 Switzerland (European Championship)
April 26, 1989: Portugal 3-1 Switzerland (World Cup)
September 20, 1989: Switzerland 1-2 Portugal (World Cup)
March 31, 1993: Switzerland 1-1 Portugal (World Cup)
October 13, 1993: Portugal 1-0 Switzerland (World Cup)
June 15, 2008: Switzerland 2-0 Portugal (European Championship)
September 6, 2016: Switzerland 2-0 Portugal (World Cup)
October 10, 2017: Portugal 2-0 Switzerland (World Cup)
June 5, 2019: Portugal 3-1 Switzerland (Nations League)
June 5, 2022: Portugal 4-0 Switzerland (Nations League)
June 12, 2022: Switzerland 1-0 Portugal (Nations League)
Read more on Portugal vs Switzerland
- Click here to read our full preview for Portugal vs Switzerland
- How Portugal could line up against Switzerland
- How Switzerland could line up against Portugal
- World Cup 2022: Why not to expect a Cristiano Ronaldo goal against Switzerland
No Data Analysis info