When The Iberian Derby appeared on the fixtures list, minds immediately raced to their last match. An epic World Cup 2018 group stage encounter ended in a 3-3 draw. Cristiano Ronaldo was the talk of Sochi, producing a hat trick.
Much has changed between the two games. Weeks after that World Cup game, Ronaldo made his transfer from Real Madrid to Juventus, Renato Sanches has moved on from Bayern Munich, Wolves can field an all-Portuguese starting XI, Sergio Ramos is Spain’s caps leader and Luis Enrique has given a number of debuts to top young talents.
In this tactical analysis, we’ll examine the tactics that allowed Spain to dominate the first 20 minutes of the match, as well as the Portuguese response. Though Spain enjoyed 66% possession, it was Portugal that generated the highest quality opportunities. This analysis will detail why Portugal’s counterattacking was so effective.
Lineups
Long-time Portugal coach, Fernando Santos, set the team out in a 4-1-4-1, handing the goalkeeping reigns back to Rui Patrício after Anthony Lopes commanded the net in the previous international window. The seemingly evergreen Pepe manned the backline with Rúben Semedo to his left, then Raphaël Guerreiro and João Cancelo on the wings. Rúben Neves was the pivot with his Wolves teammate, João Moutinho and Sanches in front of him. Barcelona wunderkind, Francisco Trincão, joined Ronaldo and André Silva in a very fluid approach up top.
Enrique went with a 4-3-3, giving the embattled Kepa Arrizabalaga his 11th cap. From right to left, the backline consisted of Sergi Roberto, Diego Llorente, Eric García and Sergio Reguilón. Sergio Busquets played the pivot, flanked by Dani Ceballos and Serio Canales. Up top, the new Leeds man, Rodrygo, started on the right, while RB Leipzig’s Dani Olmo played on the left with Villarreal’s Gerard Moreno in the middle. One of the highlights in the match were the Spanish debuts for Jose Campaña and Adama Traore.
