Analysis: Portugal

Portugal set up in a fairly orthodox 4-4-2, with William Carvalho and Joao Moutinho in the centre of midfield, supported by Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes out wide. Cristiano Ronaldo joined Goncalo Guedes up top, but the Real Madrid forward had the licence to roam freely in the final third.

Portugal demonstrated a clear bias early on in attacking down the left side and targeting Spain right-back Nacho. They attempted to overload the Spanish full-back and create opportunities in behind him or between him and Gerard Pique. The overload would be provided by Fernandes, left-back Raphael Guerreiro and Ronaldo, who would drift from his centre-forward position.

It was from this movement that Ronaldo was able to get on the ball and drive at Nacho to win the penalty for the opening goal. This method of attack could have yielded more goals, with three promising chances created in the opening five minutes.

When Spain gained control of the game, Portugal’s key threat became the counter-attack – again with Ronaldo the main figure. His play with his back to goal was exceptional, as was the speed and intensity with which he joined the counter-attack after setting the ball to a teammate.

In Portugal’s build-up play, there were three main routes. One was a direct pass from either goalkeeper Rui Patricio or one of the defenders towards Ronaldo, who would generally win the aerial battle. The likes of William and Moutinho would then try to win the second ball. Another method was the overloading of the wide areas, and the third was the counter-attack, from which Portugal could well have scored another two goals.

Out of possession, Portugal were fairly pragmatic and operated in two banks of four, with Ronaldo joining Guedes in the front line of two. Fernando Santos’ team were perhaps wary of being pulled apart by Spain’s fluid movement and rotation, so tried to keep the organisation simple with Moutinho and William ensuring that nothing came through the middle.

The issue with this, however, was that Spain rarely used or occupied the central spaces to create. Portugal therefore had two players in the middle covering space that wasn’t being used or threatened. It was only the pass into Diego Costa’s feet that they needed to be cautious of.

At 3-2 down, Portugal began to press aggressively. This suited Spain, as they were gifted more space between their opponents’ units to play. Chasing the game, Portugal had little choice but to take this risk – and it paid off with Ronaldo’s late equaliser.