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WORLD CUP CLASH PREVIEW: Portugal vs Spain

Portugal vs Spain

Neighbours Portugal and Spain are playing each other at Fisht Stadium In Russia for the World Cup on the 15th of June 2018. 

Here are the results from the last ten games Portugal and Spain played against each other.

17 Jun 1984 Portugal v Spain D 1-1 UEFA European Championship
16 Jan 1991 Spain v Portugal D 1-1 International Friendly
15 Jan 1992 Portugal v Spain D 0-0 International Friendly
19 Jan 1994 Spain v Portugal D 2-2 International Friendly
13 Feb 2002 Spain v Portugal D 1-1 International Friendly
06 Sep 2003 Portugal v Spain L 0-1 International Friendly
20 Jun 2004 Portugal v Spain W 1-0 UEFA European Championship
29 Jun 2010 Spain v Portugal L 1-0 FIFA World Cup
17 Nov 2010 Portugal v Spain W 4-0 International Friendly
27 Jun 2012 Portugal v Spain L 0-0 UEFA European Championship

Portugal

We have previously seen Portugal appear in the World Cup six times before now.

Key Moments in Qualifying

Back in October 2016, Portugal beat Faroe Islands 6-0 where Andre Silva became the youngest player ever to score a hat-trick. Silva brought Portugal to victory against Switzerland with his goal in the bad-tempered match in September 2017. October 2017 Portugal beat Switzerland 2-0 which allowed them to overtake the top opponents in their group and secure their place for Russia.

Fernando Santos 
Fernando is a retired Portuguese defender coaching Portugal since September 2014. He is considered the best they’ve ever seen throughout the history of the team.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo remains absolutely crucial to Portugal, he’s their star player and main provider of goals.
Andre Silva
Silva entered the Cup in style scoring 9 goals in the Qualifiers and forming a lethal partnership with Ronaldo.

Other News


Raphael Guerreiro missed a lot of the qualifying season due to being so injury prone, taking after his predecessor left-back Fabio Coentrao.

Spain

Spain already has 14 appearances in the world cup. They are ranked 3 below Portugal in the Fifa rankings at 6th place.

Key Moments in Qualifying 


In September 2016 Spain played Liechtenstein for Julen Lopetegui’s first game where he led them to an 8-0 victory with his tactical shifts. In September 2017 Spain beat Italy 3-0 led by Isco which dictated their group for the World Cup. In October 2017 Spain qualified by beating Israel 1-0.

Julen Lopetegui
Julen Lopetegui has been in charge of Spain’s national team since after the last World Cup. He has been discreetly making alterations to the team, introducing new variants whilst reinforcing its essence. He has an open mind for bringing in new and unexpected players without age preferences.
ISCO 
Isco is most definitely the star of Spain. We saw him glide around the Rosaleda after tearing Giorgio Chiellini and Italy apart in Spains penultimate game of 2017. His recent performances have been outstanding and we feel he will be a creative player for Spain at the World Cup.

SPORTS OF THE DAYS VERDICT

Both teams have the firepower up front to win but it comes down to teamwork. Portugal has Ronaldo but we feel Spain have been playing better as a team as a whole. We think Spain have the extra length to come out victorious in this game.

WHO DO YOU THINK WILL WIN?

Google’s win probability is at 22% for Portugal to beat Spain. The chances of Spain winning is 50% with a 28% probability of it being a draw.

 

Bet 365‘s Odds for Portugal

Portugal 1-0 Spain are 9/1
Portugal 2-0 Spain are 20/1
Portugal 2-1 Spain are 14/1

Odds for Spain

Spain 1-0 Portugal are 5/1
Spain 2-0 Portugal are 7/1
Spain 2-1 Portugal are 15/2

If you would like to see more odds for the game you can see them here.

 

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