Portugal kicks off World Cup qualifying campaign

Portugal kicks off its World Cup qualifying campaign against Azerbaijan at 7.45 this evening.

The national team has been forced to play the game in Italy instead of Lisbon due to quarantine rules its army of UK-based players would have had to endure had the game been played in Portugal as scheduled. This is despite Portugal having the lowest Covid-19 numbers in Europe, while Italy has just announced renewed lockdown measures due to spiraling infection rates.