UEFA Nations League: World Cup Hopefuls Collide in Seville

Spain vs Portugal

Spain host Portugal at the Estadio Benito Villamarin on Thursday in the UEFA Nations League match of the week.

Both teams have pedigree in the competition, with Portugal winning the first ever Nations League in 2019 while Spain were runners up in 2021. And the head coaches Luis Enrique of Spain and Fernando Santos of Portugal also have their eyes on the Qatar World Cup. 

They will battle it out in Group A2 alongside the Czech Republic and Switzerland, and La Roja and the Selecao are expected to take the top two places. So these two neighbours, rivals, and stars of European football have an opportunity to put down a huge marker on Thursday.

But which nation will take the chance?

Talking Points

Torres times two is good news for Spain

Luis Enrique is putting together an exciting young team which impressed mightily at Euro 2020 and were very unlucky to exit at the semi-finals stage on penalties to eventual winners Italy. That the Azzurri hasn’t qualified for the World Cup for the second time running makes that defeat even more frustrating for La Roja, but time is on their side.

One rapidly emerging talent is Barcelona’s Ferran Torres. The 22-year-old winger has scored 13 goals in 24 appearances for his country and, after a stint at Manchester City where he showed glimpses of his skills, he has exploded onto the La Liga stage with Barcelona where he was a key part of the Blaugrana’s recovery to reach second place.

His pace, passing, trickery, and eye for goal make Torres an exciting talent to watch and a nightmare for opposition defences.

And his namesake Pau Torres is fast becoming one of the most admired defenders in world football. At 25 years of age, the Villarreal centre-back is coming into his prime and he was the standout performer at the Yellow Submarine stunned some of the best sides in Europe, beating both Juventus and FC Bayern.

At 6’3”, he is an imposing presence at the back, strong in the air, and composed when he brings the ball out of defence. With Aymeric Laporte out injured, Torres is likely to start alongside Athletic Bilbao defender Inigo Martinez, another of La Liga’s finest.  

These two rising stars are sure to be in the Nations League 2022 highlights and will be important players for Spain in the World Cup too.

Spain come into the game full of confidence with a 5-0 win over Iceland in the last time out as Juve striker Alvaro Morata and Sporting’s Pablo Sarabia both scored a brace. They could both make a start alongside Ferran Torres with Barca wunderkind Ansu Fati also set to play a part.

Portugal’s heavy reliance on experience

The Selecao have been one of the best sides in Europe over the past decade with a settled side and some world class stars.

Cristiano Ronaldo has been Portugal’s talisman and the Manchester United star has accumulated a whopping 186 caps, but there are a few players who aren’t far behind him.

Porto defender Pepe, two years older than Ronaldo at 39, has 124 caps while Wolves playmaker Joao Moutinho has 144 and Roma keeper Rui Patricio makes up the quartet of centurians with 102.

The spine of this Portugal side has experience by the sack load and there are other seasoned pros such as Manchester City’s Joao Cancelo and Bernard Silva, and Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes in the squad.

Portugal had to rely on the established players in their World Cup qualifying campaign as it came down to the wire with a brace from Fernandes seeing them through the play-offs  with a tense 2-0 victory over North Macedonia.

So the challenge of Santos is to introduce his younger players with one eye on the future.

Now must be the time for Santos to bring in some new blood. 22-year-old striker Rafael Leao has been in sensational form for Scudetto winners AC Milan while Diogo Jota has forced his way into Liverpool’s star studded front line and, at 25 years of age, he is approaching his best years. 

It’s sad to say, but CR7 is probably preparing for his last World Cup and he can’t carry Portugal on his shoulders any more.     

History

Both Spain and Portugal love this competition. La Roja were Nations League runners up in 2021 and dominated world football 10 years ago when they were 2010 World Champions and 2012 European champions.

Portugal were Nations League winners in the inaugural competition in 2019 and European champions in 2016.

So both these teams have had relatively recent success, but the game works in cycles and it looks like Spain is the team on the up. The Nations League 2022 betting odds back Enrique’s side to win the group and make the last four of the competition, starting with a victory over Portugal.   

Betting Tip

The Selecao, at SBOTOP odds of 3.35 and the draw at 3.25, are both well in play. And at seventh and eighth in the FIFA World Rankings, there isn’t much to choose between these two teams.

But home advantage and a quickly progressing young team should give La Roja the all important edge.

 

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