Played
June 27, 2012 2:45 PM EDT
Donbass Arena — Donets'k
Referee: C. Çakιr
Attendance: 48000
June 27, 2012 2:45 PM EDT
Donbass Arena — Donets'k
Referee: C. Çakιr
Attendance: 48000
Euro 2012 Preview: Portugal - Spain
The reigning champion is eager to continue the march towards history but faces a determined Seleccao bent on winning a spot in the decider for the trophy.
By Adam Scime
| PROBABLE LINEUPS |
|
PORTUGAL
 Rui Patricio Pereira, Pepe, Alves, Coentrao Moutinho, Veloso, Meireles Nani, Almeida, Ronaldo |
SPAIN  Casillas Arbeloa, Ramos, Pique, Alba Busquets, Alonso Silva, Xavi, Iniesta Torres |
Portugal and Spain renew their Iberian rivalry, with both teams coming off the back of three consecutive wins at Euro 2012 after an opening day loss to Germany and draw with Italy respectively.
Seleccao boss Paulo Bento remains confident despite the disruption of Ricardo Quaresma and Miguel Lopes coming to blows during training on Saturday, but will be forced into a change after center forward Helder Postiga suffered a thigh injury against Czech Republic, and will be replaced by either Hugo Almeida or youngster Nelson Oliveira in the starting XI.
Meanwhile, the rest of the lineup is expected to remain the same as Cristiano Ronaldo, who has three goals in his last two games, Pepe and Fabio Coentrao come up against several of their Real Madrid teammates and Clasico rivals from Barcelona on the opposition side.
This generation of Spain players are coming off an effective quarterfinal win over France and looking to add this tournament to their trophy cabinets after Euro 2008 and World Cup 2010, but a majority of the media have been unimpressed, labeling their performances "boring" so far, and questioning whether the team is up to the same standards as the last few years.
Coach Vicente del Bosque will not be swayed by the critics, though, and is likely to stick with the players and formation he has utilized in Poland and Ukraine thus far with the lone doubt coming up front.
La Roja have started Cesc Fabregas as a 'false No.9' on two occasions and gone for the more direct approach of Fernando Torres in their other two matches, with both players notching two goals at the tournament so far. However, the Chelsea star may have the slight edge in being chosen for the first XI come Wednesday night.
| DID YOU KNOW? |
- Portugal has put out the same starting for all four of its matches at the tournament so far.
Cristiano Ronaldo (pictured, right) is now tied for third on the list of all-time goal scorers at European Championships with six strikes, behind just Michel Platini and Alan Shearer.
- Paulo Bento's side has hit the post six times at the European Championship, a new record, with four of those efforts coming from Ronaldo.
- The last time the sides met Portugal was the 4-0 victor in a November 2010 friendly, just a few months after Spain eliminated it from the World Cup by a 1-0 scoreline.
- Spain has a positive all-time record against Portugal over 34 games (W16 D12 L6). However, La Roja have only won two of their last 12 against the Seleccao.
- Xabi Alonso's two goals against France in the quarterfinal came on his 100th cap for his country.
- Spain has the best defense at Euro 2012 so far, shipping just one goal, and not conceding for the last 299 minutes.
- Vicente del Bosque's squad seems to enjoy late drama. Five of its eight goals at Euro 2012 have come during the final 30 minutes of matches.
Field Report
Reader's Predictions
Top 3 Predictions
-
Portugal 2-1 Spain
- 25.28 %
-
Portugal 1-2 Spain
- 14.86 %
-
Portugal 0-2 Spain
- 10.35 %
| European Championship Qualification 2012 (EC) | Jun 27, 2012 | Portugal 0 - Spain 0 |
|
| International Friendlies (FR) | Nov 17, 2010 | Portugal 4 - Spain 0 |
|
| World Cup 2010 (WC) | Jun 29, 2010 | Spain 1 - Portugal 0 |
|
Portugal
    |
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| Mar 26, 2013 | Azerbaijan 0 - Portugal 2 | WCQE |
| Mar 22, 2013 | Israel 3 - Portugal 3 | WCQE |
| Feb 6, 2013 | Portugal 2 - Ecuador 3 | FR |
| Nov 14, 2012 | Gabon 2 - Portugal 2 | FR |
| Oct 16, 2012 | Portugal 1 - No. Ireland 1 | WCQE |
Spain
 |
||
| Mar 26, 2013 | France 0 - Spain 1 | WCQE |
| Mar 22, 2013 | Spain 1 - Finland 1 | WCQE |
| Feb 6, 2013 | Spain 3 - Uruguay 1 | FR |
| Nov 14, 2012 | Panama 1 - Spain 5 | FR |
| Oct 16, 2012 | Spain 1 - France 1 | WCQE |
| 12 | Rui Patricio | Goalkeeper |
| 2 | Bruno Alves | Defender |
| 3 | Pepe | Defender |
| 5 | Fabio Coentrao | Defender |
| 21 | João Pereira | Defender |
| 4 | Miguel Veloso | Midfielder |
| 8 | Joao Moutinho | Midfielder |
| 16 | Raúl Meireles | Midfielder |
| 17 | Nani | Striker |
| 7 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Striker |
| 9 | Hugo Almeida | Striker |
| 1 | Eduardo | Goalkeeper |
| 22 | Beto | Goalkeeper |
| 13 | Ricardo Costa | Defender |
| - | Rolando | |
| - | Miguel Lopes | |
| 6 | Custodio | Midfielder |
| - | Quaresma | |
| 15 | Rubén Micael | Midfielder |
| 20 | Hugo Viana | Midfielder |
| 11 | Nélson Oliveira | Striker |
| 18 | Silvestre Varela | Striker |
| 23 | Hélder Postiga | Striker |
| - | Iker Casillas | |
| 3 | Piqué | Defender |
| 15 | Sergio Ramos | Defender |
| 17 | Arbeloa | Defender |
| 18 | Jordi Alba | Defender |
| 6 | Andrés Iniesta Luján | Midfielder |
| 8 | Xavi | Midfielder |
| 14 | Xabi Alonso | Midfielder |
| 16 | Busquets | Midfielder |
| 21 | David Silva | Midfielder |
| 11 | Negredo | Striker |
| 12 | Víctor Valdés | Goalkeeper |
| 23 | José Reina Paez | Goalkeeper |
| 2 | Raúl Albiol Tortajada | Defender |
| - | Juanfran | |
| - | Javi Martínez | Midfielder |
| 10 | Cesc Fàbregas | Midfielder |
| 20 | Santi Cazorla | Midfielder |
| 22 | Jesús Navas González | Midfielder |
| 7 | Pedro | Striker |
| - | Fernando Torres | |
| 13 | Juan Mata | Striker |
| - | Fernando Llorente Torres |
Results
Live
Final
scheduled
Suspended
Cancelled
Postponed
Match News
Top Scorers
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Fernando Torres Striker Chelsea |
3 | 0 |
|
Cristiano Ronaldo Striker Real Madrid |
3 | 0 |
|
Mario Gomez Striker FC Bayern München |
3 | 0 |
|
Mario Balotelli Striker Milan |
3 | 0 |
|
Mario Mandzukic Striker FC Bayern München |
3 | 0 |
