FIFA WORLD CUP
World Cup 2018: Portugal vs Spain Preview
On Friday the Fisht Olympic stadium will witness a massive showdown in Group B. Portugal and Spain will kick off their respective World Cup campaigns with a tough fixture. Spain are considered favorites to top the group with Portugal following closely in second. This is barring a major upset by Morocco or Iran. Italian referee Gianluca Rocchi will officiate this pulsating game.
Situation Inside Both The Dressing Rooms:
Portugal are the reigning European champions after a miraculous road to victory in the 2016 Euros and will approach the World Cup with a sense of optimism. In their last 16 games (competitive and otherwise) they have only lost once. (3-0 friendly loss to the Netherlands). They will be keen on having a good tournament with their talisman Ronaldo leading the team from the front.
Spain however are in a bit of trouble. The recent debacle that was all over the news saw their manager Julen Lopetegui sacked from the Spain job on the evening before the World Cup got underway. The Spanish FA stated that he was not transparent about signing as manager for Real Madrid. Ex Real Madrid defender Fernando Hierro was named as Lopetegui’s replacement soon after. The turmoil might just weigh on their minds and distract them. But this Spanish side has more than enough experience and ability to cope even on the biggest of occasions.
Previous Encounters:
The two sides haven’t played each other competitively as much in recent years. The last time these two sides met in the World Cup was in 2010 where Spain emerged victorious 1-0 in the Round of 16 courtesy of a David Villa goal. After that the two sides met in the semi finals of the 2012 Euros where Spain edged Portugal 4-2 on penalties.
Predictions:
Despite the controversy surrounding the Spain camp they look like much the better side all round in terms of technical ability in each position and are still favorites to win this game and set themselves up to top the Group B table. Portugal have attacking firepower but they might not be able to keep up with Spain’s ball retention. Even so it definitely shapes up to be a good game.
Predicted score: Spain 3-1 Portugal
