Match Report
In the standings it was Portugal 2nd on 5 points, Spain 1st on 7 — separated by 2. Portugal had been under-performing their position — 16th on five-round form against 2nd in the table. Per game in the league, Portugal were scoring 2 and conceding 0.33, Spain 1.67 and 0, against a competition average of 1.49 goals per team per game.
Portugal had not lost in 9 games. Spain arrived on a run of three straight wins.
The head-to-head ledger counts 8 games: 2 Portugal wins, 2 for Spain, 4 draws, at 2.13 goals per meeting. Hosting has counted for little in this fixture — the home side has won only 25% of those meetings.
The venue was Dallas Stadium, with room for 80,000 spectators. A. Taylor officiated: 100 games logged, averaging 2.2 yellow cards each. Half-time and full-time told different stories: it was 0-0 at the break, before 1 more goal closed it at 0-1.
Goal scorers
Spain: Mikel Merino (90')
Key stats
Possession: Portugal 45% · Spain 55% · Total shots: 10-15 · On target: 2-6 · Corners: 3-7