Portugal and Spain have met 34 times and the latter clearly have the advantage in terms of head-to-head with 16 victories. Portugal, on the other hand, have beaten Spain only 6 times. The last of those rare victories for the Seleccao occurred back in November 2010.
A compact performance from the Portuguese inflicted humiliation on the Spaniards through a 4-0 score line. Thankfully for Vicente del Bosque and his men, the match was nothing more than a friendly. Ahead of Wednesday night’s Euro 2012 semi-final clash, Spain can find confidence in what happened the last time they faced Portugal in a competitive fixture.
David Villa’s offside goal stood to give La Furia Roja victory in a game where Portugal (then led by Carlos Queiroz) employed negative tactics. That was at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in the Round of 16.
Spain are looking to clinch their 17th win over their Iberian rivals but the latter have vowed to put up a stiff fight. After all, Portugal have lost to Spain only twice in their last 12 clashes.
Portugal are arguably the most improved side among the four remaining at Euro 2012. They started off slowly with a loss to Germany but exhibited their potential against Denmark, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.
Meanwhile, Spain have stayed true to their passing game but their attacking line seems to have lost its devastating touch. Fernando Torres is the only striker to have found the net at Euro 2012 for Spain. Other goals were scored by midfielders Cesc Fabregas, David Silva and Xabi Alonso.
At the other end of the pitch, Spain have conceded only one goal – Di Natale’s opener for Italy in their first group game. The impact of the midfield has certainly helped in defence as Portugal’s Joao Pereira explained.
“It will be important not to commit errors, because they will pounce on those. The best thing would be to succeed in pressing them and us retaining possession,” the defender told the press.
“Obviously that could prove to be a bit difficult because Spain love playing the passing game, and if they play with six midfielders like they have done, it will be tough to score.”
Like Barcelona, Spain have proven that possession football is hard to match. Their authority on the pitch frustrates opponents whereas teams that dare to attack suffer emphatic defeats. Because of their ability to keep the ball, many believe that Spain are clear favourites to beat Portugal in the semi-finals of UEFA Euro 2012.
“I saw Spain's match against France. They are the biggest favourites. They dominated the entire match,” said Mesut Özil.
Regardless of Spain’s status as European and world champions, Manchester City coach Roberto Mancini has predicted an upset. The Italian views the Spaniards as favourites alongside Germany but he has tipped Portugal to shock La Furia Roja and book a place in the UEFA Euro 2012 final with Italy. Talking to Radio Rai, Roberto Mancini stated:
“The final will be between Italy and Portugal. It'll be like what happened in this season's Champions League where favourites Barcelona and Real Madrid lost out in the last four.”
For 1998 World Cup winning captain Marcel Desailly, it is a fact that Spain enter their Euro 2012 semi-final clash as favourites. However, he has backed Portugal to spice the tournament by ousting the champions. LiquidSportsGhana.com quoted the French legend as saying:
“I don't want Spain to win the cup anymore because I want to share the victory. We need to have other faces. I like Portugal definitely.”
Portugal defender Joao Pereira thinks differently, though. He insists that the combination of Nani, Miguel Veloso, Pepe, Fabio Coentra and skipper Cristiano Ronaldo is equal to Spain’s unit. Pereira told the press:
“Each side has a 50 per cent chance of qualifying for the final. We must have a healthy respect for Spain, but we are not going to respect them too much, because we too have great players, of great value to us.”
Spain are a few step away from being the first nation to claim three major titles in four years. After conquering Europe in 2008 and the world in 2010, the Spaniards are determined to reassert their authority by clinching the UEFA Euro 2012 title. Will Portugal give La Furia Roja a semi-final heartbreak at the Donbass Arena on June 27?
