Perhaps the most important Iberian derby in history will take place between Spain and Portugal, with two of the tournament favourites set to face off at the Dallas Stadium in Texas.
With a place in the quarter final up for grabs, the two sides, each featuring an abundance of world class talent, will be desperate to build upon their remarkable round of 32 victories.
Scintillating Spain dominated Austria, with Mikel Oyarzabal netting a brace either side of Pedro Porro’s headed finish, as the right back scored his first ever international goal.
Things were not so straightforward for Roberto Martinez’s team, who completed an emphatic comeback thanks to Goncalo Ramos’s injury time winner, following a fantastic delivery from Raphael Leao.
Despite this, Portugal suffered an even later scare when Josko Gvardiol thought his close range effort brought his side level in the 113th minute, only for VAR to break Croatian hearts and keep the World Cup dream alive for Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates.
Portugal will no doubt need to amend their defensive vulnerabilities if they are to shut out the European champions, who have scored eight goals in their opening four games, without conceding once.
Team NewsPortugal
Portugal remain with a fully fit squad, with the main area of focus being Martinez’s selection on squad rotation.
Ronaldo is expected to lead the line again, despite being substituted in the final ten minutes against Croatia.
Chelsea winger Pedro Neto may be replaced in the starting lineup with Francisco Conceicao and Bernardo Silva in contention to start at right wing.
Spain
Questions were raised over the availability of Spaniards: Aymeric Laporte, Porro, Dani Olmo and Lamine Yamal, who didn’t participate fully in Friday’s training session, following Thursday’s round of 32 outing.
However, it is believed that this is nothing major and precautions have simply been taken to manage potential fatigue.
Yeremy Pino and Nico Williams will both miss out again, although it is unclear whether they will feature further down the line, should Spain progress further in the tournament.
Likely lineupsPortugal
Diogo Costa; Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Renato Veiga, Nuno Mendes; Vitinha, Joao Neves; Francisco Conceicao, Bruno Fernandes, Raphael Leao; Cristiano Ronaldo.
Spain
Unai Simon; Pedro Porro, Pau Cubarsi, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella; Rodri, Pedri; Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Alex Baena; Mikel Oyarzabal.
Key PlayersRaphael Leao
Often criticised for lack of consistency, Leao has so far proved how significant a role he plays for his national side, with his outstanding attacking contributions.
Renowned for his speed, aggression and dribbling, Leao has showcased another critical aspect of his game with a world class delivery to assist Ramos’s late winner against Croatia.
Moments like this will serve such great importance if they are to unlock a Spanish side who have kept four clean sheets from a possible four so far.
With the aerial presence of Ronaldo and Ramos, Martinez will certainly be reliant on Leao to repeat the same heroics, as Portugal bid to reach their first World Cup quarter-final since 2006.
Mikel Oyarzabal
The Real Sociedad striker has been absolutely vital for Spain throughout his international career.
Often overshadowed by the likes of Yamal and Pedri, Oyarzabal’s four goals so far have really brought him into the limelight with his clinical finishing capabilities.
This now means that Oyarzabal has netted 17 times in his last 16 starts for his national side. Only Erling Haaland has scored more international goals since the start of 2025 than the Spaniard.
Oyarzabal brings strong presence in the opposition box with superb technical ability to link attacks together and reliably convert the chances created by his strike partners, which will no doubt be of big concern to the Portuguese faithful.
Match detailsWhere is the game being played?
The match will be played at the Dallas Stadium, Texas, USA.
What time is kick off?
The match will take place at 20:00 BST.
How can I watch?
The match will be broadcast on BBC One.