Spain secured a victory that required real craftsmanship. It was an ugly, scrappy and lacklustre match, but one resolved with the patience of a side that knows how to wear down the opposition through possession until the goal comes. And that happened in the 86th minute.
The Spanish side adapted to an awkward contest set up by Roberto Martínez and avoided getting drawn into the back-and-forth that Portugal were looking for. Spain moved the ball sensibly, pressed through the middle and eventually found the goal as the natural consequence of that recognisable style of possession football – more practical than spectacular and, on this occasion, decisive. The ‘Qatar windscreen’ has been consigned to history, and the focus is now on driving down the flanks and threading passes between the lines.
Lamine Yamal in action, surrounded by Portuguese players – REUTERS/ KAI PFAFFENBACH
It was not a match to remember for its aesthetics, but rather for the competitive maturity of a group of players with just one objective in mind. Spain understood that it is not always necessary to step up the pace to dominate, even if that frustrates the fans who had to sit through a match that was hard to watch. All it took was to pass, hold up the ball and repeat the process over and over until the space opened up to strike.
Lamine Yamal wasn’t decisive. Martínez assigned two players to him to prevent any dangerous dribbles, and even Cristiano Ronaldo rolled up his sleeves to stop the Barça player from creating goal-scoring opportunities. Oyarzábal had the big chance in the opening minutes, but the Real Sociedad striker shot wide, possibly thinking he was offside.
Spaniards Mikel Oyarzábal, Mikel Merino and David Raya embrace after the match – IMAGN IMAGES via REUTERS/ TIM HEITMAN
After that, the match descended into a frustrating game of positional play in which nobody really took the initiative, but which served to highlight Spain’s maturity. Nobody lost their nerve, nobody missed a chance, nobody made a mistake. The substitutions came late, but they turned the game around. Pedri is exhausted and Rodri has found the rhythm De la Fuente’s side need, but no one is quite like Merino when it comes to breaking the deadlock.
Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo in tears following Portugal’s elimination from the World Cup – IMAGN IMAGES via REUTERS/ JEROME MIRON
This was followed by Cristiano’s tears and Bob Martínez’s farewell to a team with which he never quite managed to identify, despite lifting the Nations League trophy, against Spain of all teams. CR7 is beginning to bid farewell to football and Spain are beginning to play the World Cup they wanted.
Belgium beat the United States convincingly and now await Spain in the World Cup quarter-finals. The European side sealed the match decisively (1–4) and knocked the host nation out of the competition, despite the huge anticipation surrounding the fine performance put in by Pochettino’s men.
Romelu Lukaku celebrates scoring his fourth goal, with a meaningful gesture directed at the American fans – REUTERS/ LEE SMITH
The match was marred by controversy over the red card that Folarin Balogun was spared – an incident that made headlines off the pitch and even reached Donald Trump, who, according to the president himself, rang FIFA president Gianni Infantino to say that the incident did not warrant a red card. With the striker finally cleared to play, Belgium stuck to their game plan and ultimately used their firepower and greater stability to seal their place in the next round.
Folarin Balogun, from the US, in action against Belgium’s Brandon Mechele – IMAGN IMAGES via REUTERS/ TROY WAYRYNEN
Spain and Belgium will face each other in the World Cup quarter-finals. Los Angeles will host the match, no longer under the roof and in the warm Texas weather, but with the reward of a semi-final spot where either France or Morocco will be waiting.