24′ SAVE! Ronaldo goes for the blast from the left flank, but he smashes his attempt straight at Moris, who beats the ball away from danger.
23′ Joao Felix makes a neat turn on the edge of the box on the left flank and he draws a foul from Martins. Ronaldo will be very interested in this set-piece.
22′ Olivier Thill latches on to a loose pass from Fonte and surges forward to the edge of the box. He has support but misplaces his offload straight to Dias. That was a chance for the home side.
21′ Ronaldo breaks in behind the Luxembourg defence to latch on to a long ball forward from Dias, but he is caught offside as he takes possession on the edge of the box.
20′ Chanot goes into the book for his challenge on Joao Felix. It was a cynical one from the defender.
20′ Joao Felix tries to get the better of Chanot down the left flank, but the defender blocks off his run and gives away a free-kick.
17′ Sanches brings down Vincent Thrill on the right flank, but the Luxembourg midfielder sends his free-kick straight into the hands of Lopes.
15′ BLOCK! PInto whips a low cross into the box from the left flank towards Sinani. He shoots first time in the box, only to see his effort blocked by Fonte.
14′ Silva collects on the right flank and he arcs a dangerous cross towards the back post, which evades everyone in the box and travels behind for a goal-kick.
13′ Jota is played into space down the left flank and he has space and time to deliver a cross that Chanot rises to clear at the near post.
12′ Holtz will be thrilled with his side’s start to the game. They’ve continued the momentum built in the win over Ireland.
10′ Joao Felix makes a surge towards the Luxembourg defence, only to be halted by a fine challenge by Chanot.
9′ Silva wins the ball on the edge of the Luxembourg box and he feeds Jota, but the forward cannot work his way through the home side’s defence.
8′ Ronaldo combines with Joao Felix down the left flank, but the full-back can only send his cross straight at Moris.
6′ Moris launches a long ball forward from the back with the visitors playing a high line, but Sinani moves too soon and is caught offside.
4′ Luxembourg have made a bright start to the contest and have put the visitors under pressure.
2′ Rodrigues sends a pass down the left inside channel for Olivier Thill to chase, but the ball just evades the winger.
1′ We’re underway in this World Cup qualifying contest.
The players are out on the pitch so we should be underway shortly.
Portugal have made four changes to their line-up that drew against Serbia in their last outing. Cancelo reverts to right-back as Cedric drops out of the side for Mendes. Bruno Fernandes and Danilo Pereira miss out for Santos’ men, while Oliveira drops to the bench. Sanches, Neves and Joao Felix get the nod to start tonight.
Luxembourg have made two changes to their side from their win over Ireland last time out. Pinto and Gerson come into the side in the backline as Mahmutovic and Martins drop to the bench. Sinani continues to lead the line in the final third supported by Rodrigues and Olivier Thill.
PORTUGAL SUBS: Jose Sa, Luis Neto, Domingos Duarte, Andre Silva, Joao Paulinha, Sergio Oliveira, Rafa, Pedro Neto, Cedric Soares, Rui Silva.
PORTUGAL (4-3-3): Anthony Lopes; Joao Cancelo, Jose Fonte, Ruben Dias, Nuno Mendes; Ruben Neves, Renato Sanches, Bernardo Silva; Joao Felix, Cristiano Ronaldo, Diogo Jota.
LUXEMBOURG SUBS: Enes Mahmutovic, Florian Bohnert, Timothe Rupil, Ralph Schon, Eldin Dzogovic, Maurice Deville, Aldin Skenderovic, Edvin Muratovic, Sebastien Thill, Marvin Martins, Lucas Fox.
LUXEMBOURG (4-1-4-1): Anthony Moris; Laurent Jans, Maxime Chanot, Lars Gerson, Michael Pinto; Christopher Martins Pereira; Olivier Thill, Leandro Barreiro Martins, Vincent Thill, Gerson Rodrigues; Daniel Sinani.
Portugal were denied a win in their opening match of qualifying due to a controversial call. Cristiano Ronaldo believed that his late effort had crossed the line, only to be denied by the linesman. Fernando Santos’ men spurned a 2-0 lead in the contest after Diogo Jota notched early strikes in Belgrade. However, Aleksandr Mitrovic and Filip Kostic found the net to guide the home side to a point, aided by the late call against Ronaldo. As a result, the Selecao have work to do tonight.
Luxembourg pulled off a massive upset last time out to defeat the Republic of Ireland in their opening match of qualifying. Luc Holtz’s men held tough at the back at the Aviva Stadium to frustrate their opponents. They then snatched the three points in the closing stages courtesy of a late strike from Gerson Rodrigues. Despite their success, they face a mammoth challenge to avoid a loss tonight against Portugal.
Good evening and welcome to the World Cup qualifying clash between Luxembourg and Portugal at the Stade Josy Barthel.
M. Chanot
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