Spain and Portugal will drag a year\u2019s worth of Iberian needle into the Texas heat on Monday, when the World Cup round of 16 serves up a rematch of last year\u2019s Nations League final and a clash of generations between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lamine Yamal.<\/p>\n
Portugal won that final on penalties after a 2-2 draw, spoiling Spain\u2019s attempt to defend their title and add another trophy to the European Championship crown they had claimed a year earlier.<\/p>\n
For Luis de la Fuente\u2019s side, it remains the one blot on an otherwise gleaming three-year run that began with the 2023 Nations League title and has now stretched to 34 matches unbeaten.<\/p>\n
Spain, smooth on the ball, ruthless in exploiting space and miserly at the back, have not conceded a World Cup goal since their group match against Japan at Qatar 2022. <\/p>\n
Yet Portugal are no ordinary obstacle, especially with a midfield of Vitinha, Jo\u00e3o Neves and Bruno Fernandes capable of going toe-to-toe with Spain\u2019s technicians.<\/p>\n
In last year\u2019s Nations League final, Portugal did not pretend they were going to out-glitter Spain. <\/p>\n
They were drilled, compact and stubborn, refusing the open, attacking approach France had tried before being beaten by Spain in a nine-goal thriller in the semifinals.<\/p>\n
They also had Nuno Mendes, whose evening became a personal duel with Spain\u2019s right side. The Paris Saint-Germain full-back was stretched repeatedly yet still found the energy to disrupt Spain and hurt them going forward.<\/p>\n
He is likely to be handed a similar double shift on Monday: smother Lamine\u2019s invention and charge upfield whenever Portugal get the chance.<\/p>\n
Lamine remains Spain\u2019s headline act, a teenage winger playing with the assurance of someone who treats pressure as a mild inconvenience.<\/p>\n
But Spain are far more than one prodigy.<\/p>\n
Their passing patterns are slick, their attacking movement sharp, and their defensive structure has become one of the tournament\u2019s most reliable foundations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to keep growing, but we\u2019re not afraid of anyone,\u201d Lamine told reporters after Spain\u2019s 3-0 win over Austria.<\/p>\n
Portugal arrives in a less serene condition. They struggled badly against Croatia to reach the last 16 and had endured problems in the group stage, finishing second behind Colombia after two draws.<\/p>\n
Spain, by contrast, have grown into the tournament since beginning with a goalless draw against Cape Verde.<\/p>\n
Then there is Ronaldo, still there, still defiant, still demanding attention even as the pitch he commands has shrunk.<\/p>\n
The explosive force of old may have dimmed, but he remains dangerous inside the box, as Spain discovered when he converted a loose ball to make it 2-2 in the Nations League final and send the match towards extra time.<\/p>\n
When Ronaldo was beginning his quest for 1,000 career goals, Lamine was nearly a baby. On Monday, they meet in a knockout match where one generation may shove another towards the exit.<\/p>\n
Ronaldo\u2019s sister has said he will leave the national team after the World Cup, meaning every Portugal match could now be his last.<\/p>\n
For two sides who arrived among the favourites to lift the trophy, a round-of-16 exit would feel brutally early.<\/p>\n
Spain want revenge. Portugal want another ambush.<\/p>\n
Reuters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spain and Portugal will drag a year\u2019s worth of Iberian needle into the Texas heat on Monday, when…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50622,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[22075,2045,17,22076],"class_list":["post-50621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-spain","tag-fifa-wolrd-cup","tag-ronaldo","tag-spain","tag-spain-v-portugal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50621\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}