Offside

Result – Portugal – Spain (0-1)

Lineups :

Portugal – D. Costa, J. Cancelo, R.Dias, D. Pereira, N. Mendes, R. Neves, W. Carvalho, B. Silva, B. Fernandes, D. Jota, C. Ronaldo. (4-2-3-1)

Manager – F. Santos.

Spain – U. Simón, D. Carvajal, H. Guillamón, P. Torres, J. Gayá, C. Soler, Rodri, Koke, F. Torres, A .Morata, P. Sarabia. (4-3-3)

Manager – L. Enrique.

After the discord between Portugal and Spain, it was La Roja who came out on top and booked their tickets to the Nations League semis that will take place in 2023. The Spaniards needed all 3 points to pull through after their sloppy loss against Switzerland, whereas, a draw would have seen Portugal qualify with convenience.

Overall the game was dominated by Luis Enrique’s men with over 68% of the possession, Portugal seemed to have lost their midfield duels thanks to an impressive performance by Rodri which caused difficulty for them. Even without possession A Seleçáo would create a number of chances but would fail to capitalize on them as Unai Simón brought his A-game and was one of the reason for Spain’s win over their Iberian rivals.

The main man Cristiano Ronaldo seemed to have lost his flair and his clinical finishes in the final 3^rd , he had a decent game but did not deliver what everyone expects from him. It was not just him rather individual botches cost them the match. The most legit chance came in the form of Bruno Fernandes’s shot, for a moment the entire Estádio failed to contemplate that the ball surprisingly did not find the back of the net. Joao Cancelo was unable to contribute to the team like he does for his club (Manchester City) and was lucky that La Roja did not attack down their left flack. While one full-back had a tough night Nuno Mendes performed his duties well both in the sense of offensive as well as defensive chores. We must not forget about Costa’s contribution in this game as he was the wall of the team against the attacks of Spain but there was nothing he could have done to stop Morata’s goal. Diogo Jota kept Portugal’s hope alive as he created a number of chances but just like the rest of his teammate he could not find the goal.

Spainsh player’s also lacked a decent quality while defending as both of the centre backs had a poor game. Carvajal caused difficulties to both Jota and his former teammate CR7, Jose Gaya also caused trouble for CR7 basically pocketed Silva. Rodri held his ground in the middle of the park performing his midfield duties and providing the very needed support to his centre-back mates. Busquets, Gavi and Pedri were an important introduction in this game, a good move by Luis Enrique which helped Spain’s ball progression through the midfield. The Barcelona trio turned the game in their favour still without the cameo of Nico Williams we wonder if Spain could have pulled it off, in under 15 minutes of his appearance he provided a much needed assist. Morata once again showed everyone why he is underrated, he is always their when his team needs him. Even though for almost 70 minutes he was a bit silence, he kept his calm and with the introduction of Williams it seemed that Morata has been revitalized. The goal may have seemed to easy to score yet it could have gone wrong for Spain as in the dying moments of the games players tend to mess up the simple things, thanks to Williams’s quick thinking and Morata’s composure Spain is now in the semi-finals of the Nations League.