Spain have beaten Portugal 1-0 to progress to the quarter-final of the competition, where they will face the winners of USA vs Belgium.
It was a cagey first half, as both teams attempted to feel eachother out without giving up too much in transition.
Spain managed eight shots in the first half, creating two big chances, while Portugal only managed five shots with one being a big chance.
The second half followed a similar pattern of play, Spain controlling more of the ball and Portugal waiting for their moments.
But it was the substitutes from Luis De La Fuente that shifted the tie, as Ferran Torres and Mikel Merino combined from the bench to make it 1-0 in the dying embers of the game.
Spain are now the only team left in the competition yet to concede, with Unai Simon now going 519 minutes without conceding across the 2022 and 2026 World Cups.
In this article, we’ll cover
Portugal’s plan to nullify and exploit
Portugal’s plan to nullify the Spanish midfield trio was clear, as they looked to match up against them in a man-oriented approach.
From goal kicks, Bruno Fernandes would jump up alongside Cristiano Ronaldo to press the Spanish central defenders, while Vitinha and João Neves followed Rodri and Pedri.
This left Dani Olmo being tracked by one of the Portugal centre-backs (mainly Renato Veiga), while the rest of the back four were following their attacking counterpart.
In more settled possession, Portugal dropped into more of a 4-1-4-1/5-4-1 defensive block, still retaining those man to man references in midfield.
Neves would drop to track Olmo, giving Portugal a +1 on the last line (5v4) while Fernandes dropped onto Rodri and Vitinha followed Pedri.
This gave Portugal a -1 in the frontline, as Ronaldo looked to split the two Spanish defenders, giving Spain more control of the ball.
Portugal’s plan on the ball was fairly clear, looking to overload their left-hand side, with Fernandes and João Felix rotating and Neves and Vitinha drifting to the ball side.
They were then looking to switch play to the underloaded side with João Cancelo and Pedro Neto, who could then look to progress or deliver a cross into the box.
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Spain’s counterpressing threat
Spain struggled to break Portugal’s more passive defensive scheme down, but they did find some joy in their counterpress.
When Portugal were looking to build out, the back four were spread, Vitinha was looking to drop low and Neves would then support in the build up.
However, where Vitinha and Neves offer mobility in the build up, regaining possession during this phase can leave space between the lines.
Spain’s biggest chance in the first half came from this, as they were able to regain possession via a counterpress.
They were then able to find Olmo between the lines, who found Mikel Oyarzabal running in behind but putting his shot wide.
Where Nuno Mendes was slightly more reserved at left-back, Yamal was also in a position as Spain’s “rest attacker”.
On regains/turnovers, Yamal found himself in 1v1 situations against Mendes, but the Portuguese full-back did well to stop the Spanish starlet.
Spain super subs save the day
Spain managed to keep Portugal quiet for the majority of the game, sitting in a 4-4-2 midblock and looking to guide Martinez’s side towards the wide areas.
This worked well as this is already a key feature of Portugal’s play under Martinez, often looking to progress through wide areas and deliver crosses into the box.
On the occasions Portugal did find space between the lines or with runs in behind, Spain did a great job to delay and regain their shape.
All of these factors mixed with the Spanish counterpress and control on the ball saw Portugal struggle to turn the screw.
But it was La Fuente who made the attacking adjustments to find the breakthrough, finding a way to break open this cagey affair.
Having won a free kick inside Portugal’s half, Merino was quick to restart play, catching the opposition off guard.
From here, Spain were able to manipulate the Portugal man to man approach in midfield, as Fernandes tried to apply pressure to Rodri.
Simultaneously, Bernardo Silva was dragged away from the centre by Fabian Ruiz, while Neves was slightly out of position too far to the left.
Ferran Torres then found himself in a pocket of space between the three Portugal midfielders.
Diogo Dalot didn’t follow Torres centrally, leaving Ruben Dias to step out and apply pressure on the ball, which opened space for Torres to find Merino moving in behind.
Merino eventually delivered the key moment for Spain, but they will be hoping they don’t have to leave it so late in future games.
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