Gear up fans! Portugal is set to face Croatia for their UEFA Nations League Group 1 clash on Thursday, September 5 at the Benfica stadium. Before the electrifying match begins, here’s everything you need to know!

Portugal vs Croatia: Team news

A bit of backstory before we begin: Both teams have been drawn alongside Poland and Scotland in League A Group 1. The nations come with the baggage of unfortunate performances in the Euros. Portugal had a decent group stage, winning the opening two matches against Czechia and Turkey, but endured a shock loss to Georgia. They progressed through the round of 16 with a win over Slovenia on penalties, only to get knocked out by France in the quarter-finals in the shootout.

Meanwhile, Croatia had quite a controversial journey in the Euros. They failed to secure a single victory in their group stage, losing the opening match against Spain and drawing against Albania and Italy. They didn’t even make the knockout stages and went home early.

As for the impending match, you can expect these faces to show up on the field. 

Portugal

Squad: Diogo Costa (Goalkeeper), Jose Sa, Rui Silva; Ruben Dias, Antonio Silva, Renato Veiga, Goncalo Inacio, Tiago Santos, Diogo Dalot, Nuno Mendes, Nelson Semedo; Joao Palhinha, Joao Neves, Vitinha, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Ruben Neves; Joao Felix, Francisco Trincao, Pedro Goncalves, Rafael Leao, Geovany Quenda, Pedro Neto, Cristiano Ronaldo, Diogo Jota.

Cristiano Ronaldo remained quite controversial throughout the tournament, failing to get his name on the scoresheet even once. Yet, the Al Nassr star has been called up to help for the Nations League. Meanwhile, the rest of the squad is almost similar but the likes of Pepe, Danilo, Matheus Nunes, Goncalo Ramos, and Francisco Conceição haven’t been called up.

Croatia

Squad: Dominik Livaković, Dominik Kotarski, Nediljko Labrovic; Joško Gvardiol, Duje Ćaleta-Car, Borna Sosa, Josip Stanišić, Josip Sutalo, Marin Pongračić, Martin Erlić; Luka Modrić, Mateo Kovacic, Mario Pašalić, Lovro Majer, Luka Ivanušec, Luka Sučić, Kristijan Jakić, Martin Baturina, Petar Sučić; Ivan Perišić, Andrej Kramarić, Bruno Petković, Ante Budimir, Igor Matanović

Stand-by: Borna Barišić, Marko Pjaca, Ivica Ivušić, Marco Pašalić, Nikola Moro, Toni Fruk, Robert Ljubicic

Luka Modric will again reunite with his former Real Madrid teammate Ronaldo with Kovacic also being a similar face at the Spanish capital once. Notably, Zlatko Dalić has made significant changes this time. While Marcelo Brozovic hung up his boots, the likes of Ivica Ivušić, Domagoj Vida, Nikola Vlašić, and Luka Ivanušec haven’t been called up.

Expected lineups

Portugal [4-3-3]: Costa; Dalot, Dias, Inacio, Mendes; R. Neves, Palhinha, B. Fernandes; Leao, Ronaldo, Jota

Croatia [4-3-3]: Livaković; Stanisic, Sutalo, Pongracic, Gvardiol; Modric, Kovacic, Pasalic; Sucic, Kramaric, Petkovic

Head-to-head stats and prediction

Portugal and Croatia have come face-to-face eight times in football leagues. The Cristiano Ronaldo-led team currently has the upper hand with six wins, with Croatia taking one and another match, ending in a draw.

In their last showdown during a Friendly International in June this year, Croatia defeated Portugal 2-1 at the Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, Portugal.

Both teams are coming with an unfortunate Euro campaign. Hence, this match would likely serve as a confidence booster. While either side would be looking for a victory, we reckon the match will end in a draw. The score will be Portugal 1-1 Croatia.

Watch UEFA Nations League 2024 Portugal vs Croatia on TV Channel and livestream

Portugal vs Croatia will kick off at 19:45 BST. Fans in the United States can catch the action live on FOX Sports. Meanwhile, live stream is available on Fubo and DirecTV Stream. 

Who do you think will win? Let us know your predictions in the comments below!