Why Portugal's Nations League clash with Wales is a true David vs Goliath match-up

[p]What will surely prove to be one of the Dragons' tougher fixtures will likely be even trickier because of those injuries.[/p][h2]Ronaldo's international swansong[/h2][p]The last time that [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/wales/YcUP0Nqp/"]Wales[/a] played in this particular tournament, they ended up with a solitary point from their six matches, and they couldn't have begun this edition against a more formidable opponent.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bellamy-craig/6HLBNw1o/"]Bellamy[/a], who has been linked with managerial opportunities elsewhere, can at least still count on captain [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/davies-adam/llWb13eK/"]Ben Davies[/a], who'll need all of his experience to be able to contain effervescent 41-year-old captain [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ronaldo-cristiano/WGOY4FSt/"]Cristiano Ronaldo[/a].[/p][embed guid="7a89daa2-b756-47d7-a12d-daedb2e67058" url="https://x.com/selecaoportugal/status/2102111735360430569" social-type="twitter" /][p]In what's likely to be his swansong in international football, the Portuguese icon will want to bow out on a high, in a competition that his country has already won twice in the four editions played since 2018/19.[/p][p]With nine wins and a draw from their last 10 home matches, the Selecao das Quinas are huge favourites to win this match, and given Ronaldo is only 21 goals away from reaching an astonishing 1,000 official goals, it's a foregone conclusion that he'll be trying his utmost to add to his current 979-goal tally.[/p][embed guid="fb217228-7244-4dbe-b60d-17338d072ae5" url="https://x.com/Cymru/status/2102467967929954604" social-type="twitter" /][infobox id="c5ce5f5a-ccb6-468f-9fce-bb4a330c372a" /][h2]Jorge Jesus' debut as Portugal coach[/h2][p]It's the first game for manager [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/jesus-jorge/86OEVH7O/"]Jorge Jesus[/a], in what is also his first foray into international management and his 21st separate managerial appointment.[/p][p]The 72-year-old, who, like Ronaldo, shows no signs of slowing down, has recently managed the striker at [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/al-nassr/h4I89ZuE/"]Al Nassr[/a] in the Saudi Pro League, so both parties will understand exactly what's expected of the other.[/p][embed guid="cd2ac320-6e02-42b0-9d02-016df29871ba" url="https://x.com/selecaoportugal/status/2102499409271345537" social-type="twitter" /][p]They, and the likes of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vitinha/Sz9SH7zj/"]Vitinha[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cancelo-joao/dAyeWYpm/"]Joao Cancelo[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/joao-felix/KI3YXMhi/"]Joao Felix[/a], Bruno Fernandes, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/neves-joao/hCbYVsXQ/"]Joao Neves[/a] et al., will be looking to extend Wales' poor recent form, which has seen them win only two of their last eight away matches - against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/liechtenstein/8KIf01Ed/"]Liechtenstein[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/kazakhstan/l6fBVhqk/"]Kazakhstan[/a].[/p][p]No wins in the current calendar year either (D2, L2) bring Wales' task into even sharper focus.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/portugal-WvJrjFVN/wales-YcUP0Nqp/?mid=MH4bvpgD"]Follow Portugal v Wales with Flashscore![/a][/b][/p][h2]No wins for Wales in this fixture since 1951[/h2][p]The two teams have met on four previous occasions, but this fixture will be just the second in competitive matches. Bellamy was in the Welsh squad the last time they played [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/portugal/WvJrjFVN/"]Portugal[/a] in the 2016 European Championship semi-finals, a game in which Ronaldo scored along with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nani/MDDzJYdt/"]Nani[/a], to help their side to a convincing 2-0 victory.[/p][p]Of the four previous encounters, Wales have lost three and won one, with their only victory coming in a friendly way back in May 1951. That game was also the only one to date that has been played in Wales.[/p][image alt="Portugal v Wales - Recent head-to-head results" id="cd54a304-9780-48fc-ad88-b2b827a5181f" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="8f6f7154-56b0-4d56-90e2-303263eb280a" original-width="2160" original-height="2702" /][p]Recent draws against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/northern-ireland/lQADNSWu/"]Northern Ireland[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/ghana/nNBjHale/"]Ghana[/a] and a 2-1 defeat to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/romania/IaD8jZpU/"]Romania[/a] will hardly inspire confidence amongst the Welsh fraternity that a shock will be on the cards at the Jose Alvalade Stadium, and it's therefore no real surprise at just how much of a favourite Portugal are for this one.[/p][p]Bellamy will look to Welsh stalwarts Davies, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/james-daniel/UctCitdL/"]Daniel James[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/brooks-david/Yo9UV9Mc/"]David Brooks[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/johnson-brennan/6XhWIWPP/"]Brennan Johnson[/a] to make life difficult for their opponents, whilst [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cornell-david/tb4hFcue/"]David Cornell[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/taylor-joe/Uw9LXi00/"]Joe Taylor[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/savage-charlie/dUPprmAb/"]Charlie Savage[/a] have also been called up.[/p][infobox id="5a8fbd57-e97c-4bdc-9f6b-fb0fb254e893" /][h2]A real David vs Goliath match-up[/h2][p]Where Portugal will look to keep control of the ball in midfield thanks to the excellence of Fernandes and Vitinha, Wales will look to utilise the pace of James and Johnson to get in behind the full-backs as Cancelo, for example, attempts to maraud forward.[/p][p]What could be termed a David v Goliath fixture at this level should still be an eminently watchable fixture, because Bellamy's personal pride won't allow him to accept a below-par performance from his players.[/p][image alt="Portugal v Wales - Win probability" id="16571c76-4e10-4fee-aa62-b2589cadf47e" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="65c3198d-d82a-44cf-b479-d943487e5046" original-width="2160" original-height="2702" /][p]If the visitors do end up losing the fixture, the very least that their manager will expect is that the Welsh have left every last drop of effort out on the pitch.[/p][p]Should Portugal be complacent, too, there's no telling what could happen...[/p][infobox id="8a8311c3-81b3-440e-8b49-36091db073d1" /]