Portugal Aim to Extend Strong Form Against Chile Before World Cup Opener

Precious Godwin - Photo Credit : Softfootball Media
By Precious Godwin - Editor
3 Min Read

As the 2026 FIFA World Cup draws closer, both Portugal and the United States will continue their preparations with major international friendlies this weekend. Portugal welcome Chile to Estadio Nacional on Saturday, while World Cup co-hosts USA take on four-time champions Germany at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Roberto Martinez’s Portugal side are looking to build momentum ahead of their opening Group K clash against DR Congo later this month. The Selecao das Quinas qualified impressively by finishing top of UEFA qualifying Group F, ending their campaign with a dominant 9-1 victory over Armenia.

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Portugal also secured a confidence-boosting 2-0 win over the USA in their most recent outing thanks to goals from Trincao and Joao Felix.

The Portuguese national team’s official X account recently posted training footage captioned “O trabalho continua” (“The work continues”), showing players involved in shooting drills, resistance training and tactical exercises as excitement builds for the World Cup.

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Chile, meanwhile, failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third straight edition. Nicolas Cordova’s men suffered a heavy 4-1 loss to New Zealand in their previous outing and face another difficult challenge away from home against Portugal.

Team News

Portugal will be without PSG quartet Joao Neves, Vitinha, Nuno Mendes and Goncalo Ramos, but Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva are all expected to feature.

Joao Neves (photo credit: PSG via X)
Joao Neves (photo credit: PSG via X)

For Chile, Lawrence Vigouroux could continue between the posts, behind a centre-half duo of Guillermo Maripan and Francisco Sierralta.

At the opposite end of the pitch, Gonzalo Tapia of Sao Paulo is likely to lead the line, flanked by Maximiliano Gutierrez and Matias Sepulveda.

Possible Lineups

Portugal possible starting lineup:

D Costa; Dalot, Dias, Inacio, Cancelo; R Neves, S Costa; Silva, Fernandes, Leao; Ronaldo

Chile possible starting lineup:

Vigouroux; Lichnovsky, Maripan, Sierralta, Suazo; Pizarro, Loyola; Gutierrez, Osorio, Sepulveda; Tapia

How to Watch

PlatformDetails
TV BroadcastSuperSport
Live StreamUEFA tv
Kick-off Time18:45 (WAT)

Match Prediction

Softfootball predicts Portugal 3-1 Chile

Portugal National Team(Photo Credit: Portugal football via X)
Portugal National Team(Photo Credit: Portugal football via X)

Portugal’s quality and home form should give them the edge against a struggling Chile side still recovering from another failed qualification campaign.

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