Wales mark their return to the top tier of the Nations League with a daunting trip to reigning champions Portugal and their evergreen talisman Cristiano Ronaldo . The Welsh found life tough when they were last at this level, picking up just one point from six Group A4 games against the Netherlands , Belgium and Poland .
That saw them relegated back to the second tier but Craig Bellamy brought them straight back up in his first campaign in the hotseat after topping Group B4 unbeaten. They have been drawn against Portugal , Norway and Denmark in the 2026-27 tournament and face arguably the most difficult task first up.
Portugal are not only the reigning Nations League champions but they also won the inaugural edition in 2019. We expect them to get off to a winning start on Thursday @ 1/5, with our opening Portugal vs Wales prediction being a 3-0, 3-1 or 3-2 victory @ 10/3 in a BOYLE Sports Price Boost.
Betting Odds
Portugal vs Wales Betting Odds – Nations League 2026-27
Result | Odds | Chance |
|---|---|---|
Portugal | 1/5 | 83.3% |
Wales | 12/1 | 7.7% |
Draw | 5/1 | 16.7% |
*Odds are correct at the time of writing, but subject to change.
Portugal are 1/5 favourites to beat Wales, who are 12/1 for the win, with the draw at 5/1.
How to Watch
How to watch Portugal vs Wales
The Nations League Group A4 match is scheduled to begin at 19:45 BST on Thursday and will be shown live on BBC1 Wales and BBC2.
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Form Guides
Portugal form guide
Portugal return to competitive action following a disappointing World Cup which saw knocked out in the Round of 16 by eventual champions Spain . Draws against DR Congo and Colombia cost them top spot in Group K and put the Portuguese on a collision course with arch-rivals Spain , for whom Mikel Merino’s stoppage-time winner in Arlington brought an end to their tournament.
It also brought an end to Roberto Martinez’s time in charge, with the hugely-experienced Jorge Jesus replacing the Spaniard , but it did not signal the end of Ronaldo’s international career as many had anticipated.
The 41-year-old was last week named in Jesus’ first Portugal squad, linking back up with his manager from Al-Nassr last season, and the former Real Madrid star looks set to continue his record-breaking Portugal career for the foreseeable future.
Ronaldo’s 146 international goals are the most in history and eight of those came during last season’s Nations League , twice as many as anybody else managed in the top group. He is 5/2 to open the scoring against Wales, or 4/7 to net at any time. Bruno Fernandes could also be a good bet to get on the scoresheet @ 15/8 as he looks to put a difficult start to the season at Manchester United to one side.
Wales form guide
Wales missed out on a place in this summer’s expanded World Cup after suffering an agonising defeat to Bosnia in March’s qualifying play-off semi-final in Cardiff . Dan James’ brilliant strike looked set to earn Wales only a third finals appearance in their history but Edin Dzeko’s 86th-minute equaliser sent the tie to a penalty shoot-out, where Bosnia broke Welsh hearts.
Wales , who had finished just two points behind leaders Belgium in their World Cup qualifying group, have played three friendlies since that huge disappointment, and not won any of them. They needed to fight back from a goal down to salvage 1-1 draws at home to Northern Ireland and Ghana in Cardiff before suffering a 2-1 defeat in Romania .
Those results at least showed Wales have goals in them. They haven’t failed to score since a 3-0 loss to England almost a year ago, a run of six successive matches, and we think they could make their mark at the Estadio Jose Alvalade too. A Portugal win with BTTS is 2/1 in another BOYLE Sports Price Boost while you can get 10/3 for Bellamy’s men to win either half.
Betting Tips
Portugal vs Wales Betting Tips – Nations League 2026-27
Portugal to win 3-0, 3-1 or 3-2 @ 10/3
Cristiano Ronaldo to score first @ 5/2
Simply click/tap on the above betting tips to add to your betslip.
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