European Championship qualifying tournaments often get off to an interesting start, with some of the big teams suffering World Cup hangovers and many sides breaking in new managers or bedding in “the next generation” of talent to their squads. It was certainly a rough start for Portugal, who lost their qualifying opener to Albania at home, but they’ve won their last two matches in the group and sit just a point behind leaders Denmark with a game in hand.
Portugal vs. Serbia, Euro 2016 qualifying: Time, TV schedule and live stream
Portugal’s Euro 2016 qualifying campaign got off to a rough start, but they’re hoping to earn their third straight win against a struggling Serbia side.
It’s been a very different story for Serbia. They drew their opener in the group stage and thrashed Albania to the tune of a 3-0 win, but significant and dangerous crowd disturbances forced them to vacate the win, leaving them even with Armenia at the bottom of the group table on one point. This is a team that’s better than that standing, but new manager Radovan Ćurčić -- who took over when Dick Advocaat resigned in November -- has his hands full to earn at least a playoff round berth to make the final Euro 2016 tournament in France.
Key player - Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
Who else was this going to be, really? Portugal's main man was frustrated by scoring just one World Cup goal, so he's scored in each of the two Euro 2016 qualifiers he's played in so far. If he can keep that streak up, Portugal can stay in very good shape for their qualifying run as they approach the halfway point in the group stage. Serbia have a good defense, but a player of Ronaldo's otherworldly talent can beat almost any defense on his own when he's "on." If he's having an off day, though, Portugal could find themselves struggling badly in this match.
Key Question - Can Portugal score more than one goal?
Ever since the World Cup, something slightly strange has happened to Portugal: they've scored no more than one goal in every match. Five matches, four goals. It's not like they've been playing some lockdown defenses, either, but they still haven't scored two since beating Ghana in the group stage of the World Cup, and they were shut out at home against lowly Albania in their first match after failing to advance to the knockout rounds in Brazil. Fortunately, since a 2-1 loss to France in October, their defense has been pitching shutouts, holding their last three opponents scoreless. But with an underrated and talented Serbian attack coming to the Estádio da Luz, Portugal are going to have to figure out how to score multiple goals in order to secure all three points today.
Match Date/Time: Sunday, 2:45 p.m. ET, 7:45 p.m. local
Venue: Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal
TV: ESPN2 (U.S. - English), ESPN Deportes (U.S. - Spanish), Sportsnet 360 (Canada), RTP 1 (Portugal), RTS 1 (Serbia), Sky Sports 2/HD (U.K.)
Online: Watch ESPN (U.S.), Sportsnet World Now (Canada), Sky Go (U.K.)
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