This match may have taken place on the second full day of the 2018 World Cup in Russia but in all honesty it was over the course of these ninety minutes that the World Cup truly came to life.
Before the match the focus and indeed the media narrative was firmly surrounding the Spanish camp. The decision on Wednesday afternoon from the head of the Spanish federation to sack head coach Julen Lopetegui after he had accepted an offer to take over as coach of Real Madrid after the World Cup had thrown Spanish preparations in to disarray. The federation was quick to move and appoint the former Spanish international Fernando Hierro, who was an integral part of the national team setup already, as the new coach but there was genuine intrigue as the World waited for the Spanish to start, would this change have a damaging effect on the Spanish? The answer in a word, no.
Portugal on the other hand are entering the tournament somewhat under the radar, strange given that they are the current European champions. They were keen to put the Spanish under pressure immediately from the outset with their talisman Cristiano Ronaldo at the middle of everything that they did well.
Spain favour their left side
Rarely have I seen one side dominate possession to such an extent (66% to 34%) with so much of the possession happening on one side of the field. With the Real Madrid right back Dani Carvajal still not fit to start the match following his injury in the Champions League final Spain chose to start with his fellow Real Madrid man Nacho at right back. Whilst he was a reasonable defensive asset he offered little in the way of attacking threat, until that is he blasted home a contender for goal of the tournament for the Spanish third goal in the second half.
As we see from this passmap, supplied by the excellent @11tegen11 using Opta data, there was a clear preference from the Spanish for the left side of the field. Here Isco, Iniesta and Jordi Alba in particular were key in rotating in and out of pockets of space to disrupt the defensive block of the Portuguese.
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