Portugal vs Slovenia: Team News and Predicted Lineups

Portugal will be hoping to avoid a second consecutive Round of 16 exit at the European Championships when they face Slovenia on Monday.

Roberto Martinez’s men finished top of Group F with six points beating Czechia and Turkiye before falling to a shock defeat against Georgia. Slovenia qualified for the Round of 16 as one of the best third placed teams, with three points in Group C.

𝙎𝘼𝙔 𝘾𝙃𝙀𝙀𝙎𝙀. 😁📸#PartilhaAPaixão | #EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/fgOpSBJ1gm

— Portugal (@selecaoportugal) June 29, 2024

The game takes place at 8pm on Monday 1st July at the Waldstadion in Frankfurt. Coverage begins at 7:30pm on the BBC.

Portugal vs Slovenia Team News

Portugal Team News

Portugal’s team against Georgia was heavily rotated, but Martinez is expected to recall a lot of players who missed out. Bernardo Silva, Vitinha and Joao Cancelo should all start.

Rafael Leao should also return, missing the last game after he picked up two yellow cards, both of which were for simulation.

Rafael Leao Euro 2024:

0 Goals/Assists
0 Shots on Goal
21 Possession Lost
2 Yellows for Diving
1 Suspension

PORTUGAL MIGHT AS WELL PLAY @ishowspeedsui AT LW 🥶🥶🥶 pic.twitter.com/bW125QTVOf

— Footy Hater Central (@FBHaterCentral) June 22, 2024

Cristiano Ronaldo has now gone seven games in major tournaments without a goal, but the Portugal coach is unlikely to drop his main man and captain, despite Goncalo Ramos being a suitable replacement.

Martinez’s squad is one that is focused on experience, with 41-year-old Pepe and 39-year-old Ronaldo both being incredibly important for the side. They do have some youth in the team with the likes of Joao Neves and Francisco Conceicao, but they are unlikely to feature from the start.

Slovenia Team News

Slovenia’s head coach, Matjaz Kek, sets his team up in a no-nonsense 4-4-2 formation with Andraz Sporar and Benjamin Sesko leading the line. Despite neither of them scoring in the tournament so far, Kek will stick with them up top.

Šeško 💨#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/e4Y5IPKdTW

— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) June 27, 2024

Slovenia’s most well known player is captain Jan Oblak, their goalkeeper. The Atletico Madrid shot stopper has made 68 caps for his national side and has captained them since 2019.

The only change that is likely to be made is at full-back. With Erik Janza suspended, Jure Balkovec could replace him.

Portugal vs Slovenia: Predicted Lineups

Portugal - D. Costa, J. Cancelo, R. Dias, Pepe, D. Dalot, J. Palhinha, Vitinha, B. Fernandes, B. Silva, C. Ronaldo, R. Leao

Slovenia - J. Oblak, Z. Karnicnik, V. Drkusic, J. Bijol, J. Balkovec, P. Stojanovic, T. Elsnik, A. Gnezda Cerin, J. Mlakar, A. Sporar, B. Sesko

Portugal vs Slovenia: Score Prediction

Portugal 1-0 Slovenia

Slovenia are excellent defensively, and have only conceded twice this tournament. On the flipside, their attacking players haven’t really gotten going yet, and I don’t think that Portugal is the right opponent for that to happen.

Portugal lost to Slovenia in a friendly in March, so I don’t think this will be particularly easy for them. A 1-0 win is probably the most likely outcome, with a late winner from Conceicao off the bench.