Spain and Portugal kick off their new Nations League campaigns with a special match-up as the two Iberian neighbors go head to head in Seville on Thursday.
Bookmaker William Hill has the Spaniards as favorites for the contest offering odds at 2.15 for a home win. The odds are at 3.40 for a Portugal victory and at 3.10 for the draw.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: June 1st, 5:00 P.M. (EST)
It’s going to be the 39th head-to-head meeting between these great footballing nations with Spain looking for their 17th victory and Portugal going for their seventh triumph.
The two last met each other during the last Nations League campaign in 2020-21 and both games ended goalless. Splitting the points has become very common in the match-up as there have been four straight draws including a real World Cup classic in 2018 when Cristiano Ronaldo bagged a hat trick in a 3-3 game.
Ronaldo became the all-time top scorer in men’s international football last year and he will be looking to add to his 115 goals on Thursday. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner should be very eager to link up with his countrymen after going through nine months of misery in Manchester.
It’s a meeting between the 2019 Nations League winners and the 2021 runners-up. Spain ended Italy’s 37-game unbeaten run in last year’s semifinals and took the lead in the final against France, but Kylian Mbappe suddenly came to life with a goal and an assist and there was no way back for La Roja after that.
The Spaniards, of course, made it to the Euros semifinals as well and it feels like the former superpower of international football has started to rise again. Luis Enrique has been quite ruthless with his selections at times but the refreshed lineup has played an exciting and efficient brand of football and the 2010 world champions will definitely be back in contention in Qatar.
It will be interesting to see how teams approach the Nations League with a much more important tournament coming up later in the year. The main focus will surely be on the World Cup but a good run of form in the Nations League will definitely lift the confidence and provide a bit of a boost ahead of the tournament.
Portugal certainly need to get some positive vibes going after they needed to contest a playoff to even qualify for the World Cup. A victory against Spain would show that the 2016 European champions mean business this year.
