Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal Hope Home Field Advantage Prevails in Nations League Finals

What else can you say about Cristiano Ronaldo? Want to hear something crazy? Ronaldo scored the opening goal of the tournament when Portugal hosted the 2004 European Championships. Don’t be surprise if he repeats this feat in the opening game of Euro 2020 next year. Ronaldo broke an uncharacteristic scoring drought and then some in the semifinals against Switzerland. He hadn’t found the net since the group stages of the 2018 World Cup but we went off against the Swiss to the tune of three goals including a pair in the final ten minutes that broke open a 1-1 tie to give Portugal a 3-1 win and a spot in the Nations League Finals.

To be sure, Portugal still has some serious questions about their aging nucleus heading into next year’s Euro 2020–particularly on defense–but at the relatively ripe old age of 34 Ronaldo can still play like a monster at the highest level. And although they’ll be hard pressed to defend their Euro 2016 crown the Portuguese side remains extremely formidable. They’re unbeaten in 9 international games since being eliminated by Uruguay in the 2018 World Cup but have drawn four of their last five in regulation.

And while their Euro 2020 challenge still awaits they at least have the chance to send the fans at the Estadio Do Dragao in Porto home happy with a legitimate European competition win. They’ll need to handle a tough Netherlands team to do it, however, and the Dutch are in something of a diametric opposition to Portugal in terms of their relative proximity in the world soccer scene. They’ve fallen off the pace a bit over the past few years but now appear to be on the verge of becoming relevant once again. It’ll thus be a battle of youth against experience and The Netherlands might still be a few players away from Portugal’s level.

The soccer betting odds have Portugal as a home favorite and we’ll back them to claim the trophy in a fairly high scoring contest.

BET PORTUGUAL TO WIN UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP -140
BET PORTUGAL/NETHERLANDS OVER 2, 2.5 -119
BET PORTUGAL/NETHERLANDS BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE–YES -130

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