Hungary has a team is definitely good enough to reach the World Cup in 2018. But the problem the Magyars have is that they are playing in a group with a really good Portugal team that is only second best at the moment to Switzerland. If Hungary is going to put together a serious run, it's going to have to figure out how to get at least a couple results here against the top teams in Group B. One of those opportunities comes on Saturday at Portugal.
Don't miss the World Cup Qualifying action from Estadio da Luz at 3:45 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 25, 2017. Catch every moment of the match live on FOX Sports 2.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Portugal -325
Hungary +1050
Draw +420
Over/Under 2.5
Odds Analysis
The oddsmakers have certainly projected the final score of this match at 2-0 to the home side. The Portuguese are favored by a goal and a half on the Asian Handicap alongside a total of 2.5 with a very slight nod towards the over at -120. A Selecao are set at -325 on the moneyline, and if they don't manage to get all three points out of this fixture, this will be considered a tremendous disappointment.
How They've Performed
Portugal has absolutely beaten up on Group B competition to date. The team though, was beaten on the road by Switzerland 2-0, and that's the difference right now between the two teams. A Selecao have outscored their other three foes by a margin of 16-1, though those deals came against the Faroe Islands, Latvia and Andorra, clearly the three lesser teams in this group.
Hungary is 2-1-1 to show for its work in its first four matches, and though there are six fixtures left to be played including this one in this group, this is the time that it needs to pull off an upset. The Magyars probably had to be perfect against the Faroe Islands, Latvia and Andorra to have a shot of finishing in the Top 2 in Group B, but a scoreless draw at the Faroe Islands might have been a killer. A 3-2 loss at home against Switzerland probably saw Hungary lose its best opportunity to take down one of the two giants. That loss was made all the harder by the fact that the game-winning goal came just before stoppage time.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
This Hungary team ranks No. 27 in the world right now, though it should be noted that this is only the 43rd best team in the world by the usually far more active Elo Rankings.
It should be noted that these two teams played against each other in the Euros last year and played to a 3-3 draw in one of the wilder matches of the tourney. But just as the Hungarians took the lead three times against Portugal that day and never got over the hump, they're not going to get over the hump this time either. They were whipped by Belgium when push came to shove in the first knockout round in the Euros, and this match on the road isn't any easier.
Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo were both dominant in that match against the Hungarians, and we don't see the options here that can slow these two down at this point either. There's a reason why A Selecao have scored at least two goals in four out of five matches, and when you parlay that with the fact that they have allowed a total of just three goals since the quarterfinals of the Euros, they've clearly got one of the best teams in the world. This isn't going to be the day that Portugal's dominance stops, particularly at home.
World Cup Qualifying Odds: Portugal 2, Hungary 0
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