Portugal welcome Finland to the Estadio Jose Alvalade this Tuesday for an international friendly. The hosts look to grab a win in their preparations for the European Championships whereas Finland aim for a big win as they look towards a summer without tournament football.
Date: 04/06/2024
Kick off time: 19:45
Location: Estadio Jose Alvalade
The first of the June international friendlies kicks off with Finland looking for a win to unsettle Portugal before they go for glory in the European Championships.
Portugal finished top of their group in the qualifying phase of the European Championships. In Group J, The Navigators took on Slovakia, Luxembourg, Iceland, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Liechtenstein. In ten games, Portugal picked up ten wins, going unbeaten and finishing eight points ahead of Slovakia.
The Navigators will be in Group F at the Euros where they take on Georgia, Turkey and the Czech Republic. Portugal have a good record at the European Championships and will be looking to avenge their Round of 16 exit last time out and return to their winning ways like back in 2016.
Finland finished third in Group H in Euro qualifying where they joined Denmark, Slovenia, Kazakhstan, Northern Ireland and San Marino. In ten games they picked up six wins and four losses, leaving them on 18 points and into the play-offs.
In the play-offs Finland took on Wales. Teemu Pukki did score but Wales handed Finland a 4 - 1 loss and a spot on the sidelines this summer. Finland have only ever made one appearance at the European Championships, going out at the Group stage in 2021.
Portugal and Finland have met ten times in their histories, with the first meeting coming back in the 1982 European Championships. Portugal have the better record in the fixture with five wins in comparison to Finland’s singular win, with the other four games ending in a draw.
The last five games in this fixture have seen two wins for Portugal, a win for Finland and two draws. This fixture also usually sees only one side on the scoresheet, with three of the last five games only seeing one side score.