12 Jun 2019
The UEFA Nations League is in its inaugural season and it is hard to suggest it has been anything other than a massive hit.
Though many were sceptical that a European tournament of such magnitude could replace a seemingly endless array of friendlies, the Group stage delivered plenty of drama and more than a few surprises.
Four nations remain in the tournament and Genting Casino offers a comprehensive guide to the first semi-final, complete with all the odds you need.
WHAT IS THE 2019 UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE?
The 2018-19 UEFA Nations League is a tournament involving 55 member associations of UEFA. Held from September 2018 to June 2019, it seeds teams for the qualification process of UEFA Euro 2020, and will award berths in the play-offs which will decide four of the 24 final tournament places.
The tournament, sees all 55 nations placed into four Leagues (12 teams in League A, 12 teams in League B, 15 teams in League C, and 16 teams in League D). Each league is divided into four groups of three or four teams, so each team plays four or six matches within their group.
In League A, teams compete to become the UEFA Nations League champions. The four group winners of League A qualify for the Nations League Finals in June 2019, which is played in a knockout format, consisting of the semi-finals, third place play-off, and final. The last four in the 2018-19 tournament are Portugal, Switzerland, England and the Netherlands.
The Netherlands (1988) and Portugal (2016) have both won the European Championships. England and Switzerland have not.
WHERE DOES THE 2019 NATIONS LEAGUE TAKE PLACE?
The first semi-final between Portugal and Switzerland takes place on Wednesday, June 5, 2019, in Porto. The final will also be held in Porto on Sunday, June 9, 2019.
THE ROAD TO THE 2019 UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL
Switzerland caused one of the biggest upsets in their final Group game, when they faced Belgium, who had earlier beaten them 2-1 at the Heysel Stadium.
In the return at the Swissporarena in Lucerne, Vladimir Petkovic’s Swiss team not only needed to beat the World Cup third-placed playoff winners, but needed to do so by two clear goals.
Belgium took an early 2-0 lead, but then fell apart, as the Swiss stunned Robert Martinez’s side, hitting back with five goals of their own from Ricardo Rodrigues, Nico Elvedi and a 53-minute hat-trick from Haris Seferovic.
Both teams beat Iceland, ensuring they were relegated from League A.
Portugal cruised through Group 3. They defeated Italy 1-0 at home, Poland 3-2 away, and secured the draw they needed with the Italians in the return leg in Milan to secure qualification to semi-finals. Poland were relegated to League B as a result.
The Genting Casino UEFA Nations League football odds have Portugal as 4/6 to win the game in normal time. Switzerland, who have won three of their last 11 meetings with Portugal, are available at 9/2 to win in 90 minutes.
The draw, which has occurred on five occasions in 22 meetings since 1938, is on offer at 11/4.
TOP TRENDS FOR PORTUGAL v SWITZERLAND
Portugal have hardly set the world alight with their grind-it-out style. A last-16 exit at last summer’s World Cup was followed by an unbeaten qualification for these Finals, all without talisman Cristiano Ronaldo. Portugal have won four and drawn four of their last eight internationals and they are 2/13 to either win or draw on the Double Chance market.
Ronaldo played and scored at Euro 2004 – his first international tournament. Since then, he has played and scored at least one goal in eight more. The Nations League Finals is a chance to make it 10-in-a-row.
Ronaldo is 5/6 to score at any time and 10/3 to score two or more against Switzerland.
Portugal have drawn their first two Euro 2020 qualifying games at home since making the semi-finals of the UEFA Nations League (0-0 vs Ukraine and 1-1 with Serbia), despite Ronaldo returning.
While Portugal hosts the semi-finals and final, the national side has won just one of their five home games this season, and the Genting Casino Football Odds have Switzerland at 11/10 to either win or draw on the Double Chance market.
Switzerland managed nine points in qualifying for the last four – and scored 14 goals in their four group games, having initially put six past Iceland, bookended by that emphatic 5-2 win over Belgium. They have also opened their Euro 2020 campaign with a 2-0 win over Georgia and scored three more in a draw with Denmark. The Swiss are 9/1 to win but concede and 2/1 to score the first goal against Portugal.
For a team that has taken the scalps of Brazil, Serbia and Belgium in the last 12 months, Switzerland’s outright odds of 6/1 to win the tournament might seem a little too generous to some.
Portugal are 9/5 joint favourites with England, who face The Netherlands (14/5) in Guimaraes on Thursday (June 6).
Four of the last 14 meetings between Portugal and Switzerland have seen three goals or more scored in total It is 3/4 that there will be under 2.5 total goals scored in normal time.
Eleven of the last 22 meetings have seen both sides score, although the last four meetings have been won to nil by the host team. It is 7/5 that Portugal win to nil and 19/20 that both teams score.
TEAM NEWS
Switzerland will be without injured striker Breel Embolo but Liverpool midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri, who could soon be on his way out of Anfield – with West Ham said to be interested in the Liverpool midfielder – makes his return to the squad after missing their two Euro 2020 qualifiers with a groin injury.
Newcastle United defender Fabian Schar has also been named in the squad for the last-four clash at Porto’s Estadio do Dragao.
Portugal have recalled 34-year-old Ronaldo, who has impressed since leaving Real Madrid for Juventus last season, scoring 21 goals in 31 games.
He could be joined in attack by 19-year-old Benfica advanced midfielder Joao Felix, who is in Manchester United’s radar. He will likely make his full international debut against the Swiss.
Portugal will miss suspended midfielder Danilo Pereira, but Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva is a certain starter and is 10/3 to score at any time.
HOW TO WATCH THE 2019 UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL LIVE
Portugal v Switzerland will kick off at 7.45pm BST and the game is live on Sky Sports Football. You can also watch the game via NOW TV, which can be streamed through a computer or apps found on most smart TVs, phones or consoles. BBC Radio 5 Live will also broadcast the game live.
