Old
enemies and local rivals Portugal and Spain face each other in Euro 2012’s
first semi-final at the Donbass Arena in Donetsk on Wednesday evening 27 June
2012(28th June 12-15am IST). Portugal have never won this tournament
before but Spain are the current holders following their triumph last time out
in 2008. Spain also won it the second time it was held, back in 1964.
Peoples are thinking that is going to be an unequivalent battle between
a team full of eleven superstars & one man army Portugal side. But
regarding the performances of few other good players like Nani, Postiga in this
current EURO the battle of the Iberian peninsula should be a good between them.
Spain, the best team in Europe, the obvious favourites. From a fantasy
footballing perspective, it’s a dream to see play players like Xavi and Iniesta
in a same side though Jordi Alba has also proven his utility in the La
Furia Roja side in this tournament.
There is a classic debate in Vincente Desl
Bosque side regarding Fabregas vs Torres, no one knows which one will start
from the beginning, which makes their selection a bit dangerous. Perhaps
Fabregas will keep his place in the famed 4-6-0 lineup leaving Torres to make
another substitute appearance latter. Torres did start two group games and does
have two goals in the tournament, however…
Portugal, of course, rely heavily on Real Madrid superstar Christano
Ronaldo as he comes up against a number of his Real Madrid colleagues in this
Spanish team. Golden opportunity for him to bring a conclusion on that debate
that who is superior Messi or he. Not much more needs to be looked at than
that. Meireles and Moutinho are affordable midfield selections who could burst
forward but they won’t see much of the ball against Spain.
Portugal were the first team to advance to the semi-finals – following
their 1-0 win against Czech Republic on Thursday , now Paulo Bento is hoping
the extra two days rest over Spain will be an added advantage for them. But the
question how much they will occupy the possession of ball in that Spanish side.
The Spanish armada have beaten France in the quarter stage by a clear
2-0 margin in the third quarter final on 23rd June keeping immense
dominance throughout the entire match. Only Vicente del Bosque is quite worried
about the fatigue & tiredness factor just before the semis against
Portugese side.
Spain and Portugal met two years ago in the first knock-out round of the
2010 World Cup in South Africa. Then, a solitary second-half goal from David
Villa saw Spain through to the quarter-finals. Spain, of course, went on to win
the tournament.
If we go through the previous records
Spain have won most of the matches they played against Portugal. In their
previous 35 encounters, Spain have won 17 times
while Portugal managed to win 6 times amongst them & 12 matches
remain draw. Only twice they met in UEFA cup before, wayback 1984 they finished
in an 1 all draw & in recent time in 2004 Portugal won the match in 1-0
margin.
Spain’s
Route to the Semi-Finals
Tournament favourites and reigning
world champions Spain continued their charge in the quarter-finals in what
looked on paper like a tough match against France, but which ended up being a
disappointing event as the French never really got into their stride. A first
half header and a last-minute penalty, both from Xabi Alonso, sealed the 2-0
win.
In the group stages, Spain could
only draw their opening game against Italy but rallied to demolish Ireland 4-0
in the second game. And they needed a late winner from Jesus Navas to win the
final match against Croatia.
Portugal’s
Route to the Semi-Finals
Any doubts that Portugal’s captain
Ronaldo was now back to form after a poor performance in the first two group
games were laid to rest as he tore through the Czech Republic defence in the
quarter finals. True, they only won 1-0, but Ronaldo got that goal and the
scoreline did not reflect the Portuguese domination of the game.
Portugal lost their opening group
game 1-0 to Germany but then won a five-goal thriller 3-2 against Denmark. They
fell behind to the Netherlands after 11 minutes, but Ronaldo rescued the day
with a brace, one in each half. Portugal came second in the group, three points
behind Germany.