Portugal v Switzerland: League of Nations semi-final – live! | Soccer

46 min: Shaqiri finds the ball well placed on the right side of the Portuguese penalty area, but is stripped by Raphael Guerreiro, who is moving slowly on the ground before throwing the ball forward.

46 min: Switzerland launches the ball for the second half, one goal less and needs a forward-center able to hit the target. There is no change of staff on both sides.

Portugal leads to the break. A Cristiano Ronaldo free kick makes the difference between the two teams preparing for a refreshment at half-time. They are ready to qualify for the Sunday Nations League final, but Switzerland is optimistic in light of the evidence of the first half. Xherdan Shaqiri was a constant threat, while striker Haris Seferovic missed a goalkeeper and came closer on two other occasions.

44 min: Joao Felix stands behind Ricardo Rodriguez to find himself at the end of Ronaldo's deep pbad and attack him over the bar under pressure from the defender. He was not surprised, he is only 9 years old and has the impression that a gust of wind could overthrow him.

41 min: Shaqiri and Mbabu, combined on the right, stand behind Portugal's left-back Raphael Guerreiro and create a cross for Seferovic. The attacker is obliged to release the ball from under his feet before triggering a shot that strikes the crossbar and pbades over.

40 min: Bernardo Silva tries to spot Ronaldo in the Swiss penalty area with a center loop in the left inside, but the shot is clear.

Meanwhile in Guimaraes …

Our chief sports journalist, Sean Ingle, is lucky enough to be in the company of "boisterous" fans traveling to England.

36 min: Ronaldo bleeds Mbabu's blood on the left sideline, placing his back straight on his back twice in succession, successively with a clever footwork, and deserves some loud applause from the crowd for his problems.

35 min: Shaqiri was a busy boy tonight and put the ball back up, before helping the ball get back to the penalty area in Portugal towards Seferovic. Pepe clears up for the guests.

32 min: Bruno Fernandes takes the ball on the right flank of Portugal and does not waste time trying to spot Joao Felix from a center. He cooks his delivery too much.

31 min: Switzerland won a free kick about 25 meters from the goal of Portugal, a little to the right of the center. Xherdan Shaqiri tries his luck, but his effort hits the defense wall and Portugal clears the two corners that follow.

29 min: Rui Patricio is blocked on the edge of his own penalty area after a confusion with his defenders, but Xherdan Shaqiri tries to get the ball around the goalkeeper rather than shoot for the first time. The Swiss must be content with a turn from where nothing comes.

26 min: While Ronaldo was the victim of a foul on the edge of the Swiss surface (although Mbabu claims with some justification he got the ball as well as the man), he took the free kick a few meters further back. The setting up of Yann Sommer's wall was dubious to say the least and the Swiss goalkeeper was also disappointed that when Ronaldo sent the ball past him in the lower right corner of 25 meters.

Portugal leads! Kevin Mbabu is penalized for a foul on Ronaldo just at the edge of the Swiss penalty area. Ronaldo gets off the ground and scores a free kick.

23 min: The right-back of Portugal, Nelson Semedo, center on the Swiss penalty area, on Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal's only player. He is unable to choose his man.

22 min: Carvalho tries to spot Joao Felix with a high ball in the middle of the Swiss penalty area. Fabian Schar wins the ball and clears.

19 min: Switzerland attack from the right side and the ball is played in Shaqiri about five meters from Portugal's penalty area, just to the right of the center. He sends a high and wide bullet to the target.

17 min: It's a pretty keen start, dominated from the start by Switzerland, but Portugal has since entered the match. Seferovic, who plays football with Benfica, takes advantage over Pepe to give Mbabu the lead, but sends his weak effort down directly to Rui Patricio at around 10 meters.

15 minutes: Another error from Akanji leads to a Portugal corner. And then another, when Kevin Babu puts the ball out of the game with an unconvincing attempt to get a clearance. The ball went into Switzerland's penalty area, where Pep led a difficult and wide-ranging opportunity.

13 min: Haris Seferovic fails to come into contact with the ball while he was trying to find himself at the end of a magnificent center of Xherdan Shaqiri, struck from the right. If he had made contact, he would almost certainly have scored. The ball was dangerously close to sliding to the far post, no matter.

10 minutes: Your journalist, minute by minute, is confronted with minor technological problems as he disconnects the plug from his computer, swears loudly and has to wait for his restart. Meanwhile, Bernardo Silva fired on a narrow shot, after a hideous and misplaced pbad from Manuel Akanji. An opportunity for the Swiss.

4 min: A good start for the Swiss who are getting closer. Denis Zakaria is the author of the ball on the right flank, after the balloon attack on the right flank. Only striker Haris Serferovic hit the ball at close range.

2 min: One wondered if the Swiss would line up with a record of three or four and they seemed to have chosen the first one. Shaqiri center in the Portuguese penalty area, Pepe splits and the ball breaks to Shaqiri, who is now on the left side of the penalty area. He tries to lift Rui Patricio from the edge of the penalty area, but does not get enough height on the ball to clear the goalkeeper.

1 minute: After a minute of silence perfectly respected for the late Lennart, Portugal gives the kickoff. Their players wear red shirts, red shorts and green socks. The Swiss are dressed in white shirts, shorts and socks. At first, the Swiss had a minor fear while Joao Felix looking for a pbad back to goalkeeper Yann Sommer, which spoils his game a little, but he pulls as expected.

Not long now: Cristiano Ronaldo and Granit Xhaka lead their teams to the Esradio Do Dragao Championship, where giant flags from each country are held alongside the tournament's flag. It's time for national anthems, after which there will be a minute of silence for former UEFA president Lennart Johansson, who died Tuesday at the age of 89.

Portugal: Rui Patricio, Semedo, Pepe, Ruben Dias, Warrior, Carvalho, Neves, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Ronaldo, Joao Felix.

Swiss: Sommer, Mbabu, Rodriguez, Schar, Akanji, Zakaria, Xhaka, Freuler, Steven Zuber, Shaqiri, Seferovic.

Arbitrator: Felix Brych (Germany)

Some news from the team: Joao Felix starts for Portugal. The 19-year-old Benfica forward, who scored 18 goals last season, will make his debut tonight for his country.

Vladimir Petkovic speaks

"Playing for your national team is an honor," said the Swiss coach at his press briefing before the match. "Playing against the best teams is an opportunity to improve and gain experience. It's a good opportunity to win the tournament. "

Asked about tonight's opponents and how his own players would approach them, he was honest in his badessment. "We saw that Portugal did not concede a lot of goals," he said. "They are difficult to break down. We need to focus on what we can do to beat them.

"We will do nothing different in terms of preparation. We must be ready for them. We badyzed their strengths and weaknesses. It's not all about Felix, Silva or Ronaldo.

Fernando Santos speaks

The main topic of discussion surrounding the Portuguese camp in preparation for this match was the call of Benfica striker Joao Felix, a target of several Premier League clubs this summer. There was so much questioning about whether the 19-year-old was going to start tonight as Fernando Santos was visibly exasperated at his pre-game press conference.

"He was called for a reason," said the boss of Portugal. "We have to appeal to players who can contribute, he has great qualities, he shows it at club level and he is one of the 23 players who are here on merit. And if he's here, it's because he's ready to play and contribute. Everyone is training well, they are really ready for the match and we do not think further than tomorrow. "

Asked about the kind of match he expected against Portugal, Santos did not beat around the bush. "It will be a very difficult match, with two teams that like to keep the ball, who like possession of the ball," he said. "Switzerland also likes to play long balls, using the characteristics of players like [Haris] Seferović; then there is [Xherdan] Shaqiri, who likes to hold the ball. They are full of quality players. Our job is to think of ourselves and to impose our game. The Portuguese national team, which plays at home, wants to bring joy to its fans. "

Estadio Do Drago of Porto is the place where the champions of Europe, Portugal, welcome Switzerland for a place in the final of the first League of Nations. Scheduled for Sunday night, he will oppose the winners of the game tonight to who wins the victory between England and the Netherlands at Guimaraes tomorrow night. The losers will play third place Sunday afternoon. The kickoff tonight is at 19:45 (Paris time), but stay tuned for team news and preparations.