Portugal convincingly beat Spain 4-0 in a shocking defeat for the current European and World Champions in a friendly match played at Estadio da Luz in Portugal on Wednesday, 17 November.
Both these countries are trying to jointly host the 2018 World Cup. In this background, the match was scheduled in order to promote goodwill and harmony between both neighbouring countries. However, it was a totally different affair once the players made
it on the pitch, as it turned out to be a real battle between two of the best football sides of Europe. Helder Postiga scored a brace, while the other goals were scored by Carlos Martins and Hugo Almeida.
The two sides last met in the World Cup in South Africa earlier this year. Spain knocked out their neighbours from the Round of 16 and went on to win the World Cup. Both these countries have had a contrasting fortune in football in recent times. Spain has
established its superiority as the World Champions as well as the European Champions. Portugal, on the other hand, has generally failed to impress and is still facing problems in getting their qualification for the next Euro Cup.
Nevertheless, the match promised to be a good one between both sides, as most of the superstars made it into their teams. Spanish coach, Vicente Del Bosque started with the same team that starred in the final against Netherlands in South Africa, except for
Pedro Rodriguez, who was missing because of an injury. Therefore, David Silva started the match for Spain, while the in-form, Fernando Torres was left on the bench. Portugal relied on the width in their sides, with Nani and Cristiano Ronaldo covering the flanks
for their side. Both these players played a great game and featured heavily in the opening half.
Nani had the first chance of the match, but his low shot was cleared by Iker Casillas. Afterwards, Andres Iniesta and David Silva had chances to get a lead for Spain, but the later missed an easy header. In the 36th minute, Ronaldo and Nani were
involved in a move that looked certain to go into the goal, but Nani turned out to be a villain this time.
Ronaldo’s final chip over Casillas was going into the net before Nani tried to take and credit and headed the ball home, from an offside position. Ronaldo was furious after this incident, throwing away his captain’s armband on the floor, as he was clearly
denied an amazing goal due to his team-mate’s stupidity.
Ronaldo was involved in the first goal for Portugal around the half-time, as his powerful shot from distance resulted in a weak clearance by Casillas. The loose ball was picked up by Martins, ahead of any Spanish defender, who scored an easy goal past the
recovering goalkeeper. At the half time, both teams made plenty of changes, as Ronaldo went out for Portugal, while Fernando Torres got inside for Spain.
The second goal came four minutes into the second half, scored by Postiga. He received a cross from Joao Moutinho and Postiga diverted it with a back heel. Sergio Ramos came rushing in to clear a weak shot, but he fired it into his own goal, instead of making
an easy clearance. Spain tried to comeback in the game, but Portugal was putting a lot of pressure on the World Champions. Postiga had another easy finish, after being supplied by Moutinho once again. Soon, Almeida scored the fourth of the night, with a through
ball played by Pepe.
In the end, Portuguese had an easy victory in the match, clearly dominating the World Champions. This is the second big defeat for Del Bosque and his men, since the World Cup, as the first one came against Argentina. For Portugal, it was a third successive
victory since the new coach Paulo Bento came in September, in place of Carlos Queiroz.
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