Portugal vs North Macedonia Prediction and Odds | UEFA World Cup Qualifying March 29

Portugal vs North Macedonia Betting Preview

WagerTalk soccer handicapper Kevin Dolan offers his Portugal vs North Macedonia betting preview for Tuesday, March 29 as part of UEFA’s World Cup qualifying. These two teams last met in a friendly almost ten years ago with neither side finding the back of the net in a dull 0-0 draw in Portugal.

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Tuesday, March 29	UEFA World Cup Qualifying Betting Notes
Portugal:	-500
North Macedonia:	+1400
Draw:	+650
Total:	2.75 Goals (Odds Above Courtesy of DraftKings)
Game Time:	2:45pm ET / 11:45am PT

Portugal vs North Macedonia Analysis

The North Macedonians head into the Estadio do Dragao on Tuesday night coming off an historic win against Italy last week in the qualification round, knocking out the European champions 1-0 with a late goal in injury time.

Facing them on Tuesday will be a Portuguese side looking for a much more comprehensive display than the one they showed against Turkey last week, emerging 3-1 winners in that game but failing to look particularly impressive in what was a very competitive game throughout.

North Macedonia Looking to Make More History

North Macedonia eliminating four-time World Cup winners Italy from the competition last week went down as one of the biggest upsets in international soccer over the last few decades.

However, the North Macedonians really had to hang on and weather a storm in that one, getting outshot 32 to 4 by Italy over the course of the game and registering just 12 dangerous attacks to Italy’s unbelievable 103 also.

Portugal Not Looking Like a Contender

After getting knocked out in the second round of Euro 2020 by Belgium, it’s arguably been a long road back for this Portuguese side since last summer with their results being anything but impressive.

Desperate come from behind last gasp wins against Ireland, followed by a subsequent draw, low-key wins against Azerbaijan and Luxembourg followed then by losses against Serbia has meant it’s been fairly pedestrian stuff from the Portuguese over the last 12 months and potentially a sign of the gulf opening up between them and the other elite teams competing for this year’s World Cup.

Portugal vs North Macedonia Prediction

While Portugal are absolutely huge -1400 favorites to progress from this tie and move on and -500 just to win the game inside regulation, there’s absolutely no way with the way both teams are playing right now I could look to back Portugal at those kinds of odds.

While North Macedonia were somewhat fortunate last week that Italy left their shooting boots at home, the grit and character displayed by North Macedonia in that game means they aren’t just here to make up the numbers.

North Macedonia’s only loss in the group stage of qualification was to Germany and their pass accuracy and aerial ability was second only to Germany in that group also.

More importantly, no team scored more goals on the road than North Macedonia did in Group J, with the North Macedonians equalling Germany in front of goals scoring a colossal 3 goals per game away from home.

With Portugal scoring an average of 2.25 goals per game at home across their group stage qualification campaign and registering by far the highest number of offensive shots also at 19.1 on average, we believe there’s good value on the over 2.75 goals in this one in a game that should hit at least three goals by the final whistle.

Interested in placing a bet on Tuesday’s Portugal vs North Macedonia World Cup qualifying clash? Caesars Sports is offering up to a $1,500 match bet for first-time deposits in New Jersey, West Virginia, Colorado, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Virginia, Tennessee, Arizona, New York and Louisiana.

Soccer Betting 101

New to betting on soccer? Not familiar with all the wagering options, such as three-way betting and the Asian handicap? What stats should a novice soccer bettor focus on? What are some basic tips and strategies? Carmine Bianco and Nick Borrman joined Kelly Stewart to share some tips to novice soccer bettors.

WagerTalk Soccer Odds Screen

WagerTalk’s live odds screen features up-to-the-minute lines from a variety of offshore and domestic sports books. Track the moneylines, goal spreads and totals for all of this week’s World Cup qualifying games, including this Portugal vs North Macedonia showdown, from your desktop or phone.

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Meet the Author

‘The sharpest sports mind in Ireland’ is how one prominent newspaper dubbed Kevin Dolan after he became the first foreigner ever to win the World Series of Handicapping tournament back in 2015. “The Irishman” made his start wagering on GAA, football, soccer and boxing, all to immense success. Since becoming a professional bettor, he has since lit up the sports betting scene in the U.S. and abroad, winning two handicapping awards and writing a best-selling book on sports handicapping named ‘The Complete Guide to Sports Betting’.

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