Portugal–Spain football rivalry
The Portugal–Spain football rivalry (also known as The Iberian War or The Iberian Derby) is one of the oldest football rivalries at a national level. It began on 18 December 1921, when Portugal lost 3–1 to Spain at Madrid in their first ever international friendly game. Portugal lost their first matches, with their first draw (2–2) only coming in 1926. Portugal's first win came much later (4–1) in 1947.
Sergio Ramos (top center) of Spain tries to pass the ball to Fernando Torres (center) as Portugal's Fábio Coentrão (left), Bruno Alves (right) and Cristiano Ronaldo (top) look on during a match at 2010 FIFA World Cup match. | |
Locale | UEFA (Europe) |
---|---|
Teams | Portugal Spain |
First meeting | Spain 3–1 Portugal Friendly (18 December 1921) |
Latest meeting | Portugal 0–0 Spain Friendly (7 October 2020) |
Statistics | |
Meetings total | 37 |
Top scorer | Lángara (7) |
All-time series | 6 (Portugal) – 15 (draw) – 16 (Spain) |
Largest victory | Spain 9–0 Portugal 1934 FIFA World Cup Q (11 March 1934) |
Both belong to the strongest football nations of the world, and have met a total of 37 times (of which 9 matches were competitive) which resulted in 6 victories for Portugal, 15 draws and 16 victories for Spain.
Background
The rivalry between two countries goes back to 1581, when the king Henry of Portugal died with no heir and it triggered a succession crisis. Where the main claimants to the throne were Philip II of Spain and António, Prior of Crato. Philip II of Spain was made king, and he united both Crown of João VI and Spanish Crown to form Iberian Union. It lasted only 60 years until 1640, when the Portuguese Restoration War was initiated against Spain, and Portugal regained its independence under the Braganza dynasty.
In the 18th century, wars were very often between the major kingdoms and Portugal and Spain always found themselves on the opposite sides. The Portuguese, courtesy of their long-standing alliance, aligned themselves with Great Britain, while Spain, through the Pacte de Famille, allied themselves to France. In 1762, during the Seven Years' War, Spain launched an unsuccessful invasion of Portugal.
In 1777, there was a conflict between the two states over the borders of their possessions in South America.
During Napoleonic Era, in 1807, the king of Spain and his French allies invaded Portugal, using a route that crossed through Spanish territory. However, the French decided to take over both countries, overthrowing the King of Spain and forcing the Portuguese royal family to escape to the Portuguese colony of Brazil.
After the fall of Napoleon, both countries came close to war a number of times during the early 19th century. Both lost their American colonies shortly after the end of the Peninsular War, which severely weakened their global power.
Major Tournaments
First leg
First leg
Spain and Portugal met in 1950 FIFA World Cup qualification round with Spain going away with a 5-1 victory at home.[1]
Second leg
Second leg saw both sides drawing 2-2, meaning Spain qualified for 1950 FIFA World Cup after defeating Portugal 5-1 in first leg.[2]
UEFA Euro 1984
In UEFA Euro 1984 group stage Portugal and Spain were paired together, both sides qualified to the next round as Portugal drew Spain 1-1. António Sousa gave Portugal in 52nd minute, after 21 minutes Santillana equalised for Spain at 73rd minute.[3]
UEFA Euro 2004
Portugal and Spain faced off in group stage of UEFA Euro 2004 hosted by Portugal. Portugal won the game 1-0 as half time substitute Nuno Gomes scored a goal from 20 yards, giving Portugal their first ever victory against Spain in a major tournament, this was also Portugal first victory over Spain since 1981.[4]
Spain | 0–1 | Portugal |
---|---|---|
Report | Nuno Gomes 57' |
2010 FIFA World Cup
Spain defeated Portugal 1–0 in the Iberian derby to progress to the quarter finals where they were to play Paraguay. The game took place on Tuesday 29 June 2010 at the Cape Town Stadium. Spain dominated the game with a ball possession ratio of 62% and several opportunities, but had to endure a pair of missed chances by the Portuguese in the first half, including one by Hugo Almeida which nearly resulted in a goal. In the second half, the Portuguese attacking threat decreased, and the entry of Fernando Llorente for Fernando Torres on the field brought new energy to the Spanish team. The only goal of the match came on the 63rd minute: David Villa picked up a brilliant pass by Xavi, having his first shot saved, but then lifted the rebound into the roof of the net.[5] Post-match replays showed that the goal was scored from an offside position (0.22m according to ESPN axis).[6][7][8][9][10][11]
Spain | 1–0 | Portugal |
---|---|---|
David Villa 63' | Report |
UEFA Euro 2012
Portugal faced Spain for the sixth time in a major tournament at UEFA Euro 2012 semi-finals.[12] In early minutes of first half, Spain missed an scoring opportunity as Álvaro Arbeloa shot a half-cleared ball by Bruno Alves just above the crossbar. After a Portugal free-kick hit the wall, Spain started a counter-attack with Xavi passing the ball at the edge of the box, just to be hit above the crossbar by Andrés Iniesta. Halfway through first half Cristiano Ronaldo shot just waved past the Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas missing the goal by inches. In the 85th minute Portugal got two back-to-back freekicks as Ronaldo was fouled for the first one and second for handball which happened as Ronaldo hit the first freekick at the wall, the second freekick went above the bar, as the 90 minutes ended with a 0-0 scoreline. At 95th minute Portuguese keeper Rui Patrício saved a shot from Iniesta as he fired in a cross in the six yard box. As extra-time ended 0-0, the penalty shootout started, Spain went out victorious as Cristiano Ronaldo didn't take a penalty after Xabi Alonso saw Patrício saving his first penalty. After the match Portuguese coach Paulo Bento said: "We had this order. Ronaldo was fifth."[13][12]
2018 FIFA World Cup
Spain faced Portugal in the second match of Group B. Cristiano Ronaldo gave Portugal an early lead from the spot-kick in 4th minute of the match after deceiving Nacho inside the box. In the 24th minute, Diego Costa equalised for Spain after scoring past the Portuguese defence. Isco then saw his shot thumping against the post. Ronaldo gave Portugal lead once again in 44th minute after Spanish keeper David de Gea was unable to handle the shot. Costa once again equalised for Spanish side in the 55th minute. Nacho redeemed himself after scoring a superb half-volley from outside the box at 58th minute. Gerard Piqué brought down Ronaldo outside the box at 86th minute, Ronaldo scored the free kick to equalise the game at 3-3, earning his first-ever World Cup hat-trick.[15][16]
List of Matches
# | Date | Venue | Competition | Result | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 18 December 1921 | Madrid | Friendly | Spain | 3–1 | Portugal |
2 | 17 December 1922 | Lisbon | Portugal | 1–2 | Spain | |
3 | 16 December 1923 | Seville | Spain | 3–0 | Portugal | |
4 | 17 May 1925 | Lisbon | Portugal | 0–2 | Spain | |
5 | 10 January 1928 | Portugal | 2–2 | Spain | ||
6 | 17 March 1929 | Seville | Spain | 5–0 | Portugal | |
7 | 30 November 1930 | Porto | Portugal | 0–1 | Spain | |
8 | 2 April 1933 | Vigo | Spain | 3–0 | Portugal | |
9 | 11 March 1934 | Madrid | 1934 FIFA World Cup qualification | Spain | 9–0 | Portugal |
10 | 18 March 1934 | Lisbon | Portugal | 1–2 | Spain | |
11 | 5 May 1935 | Friendly | Portugal | 3–3 | Spain | |
12 | 12 January 1941 | Portugal | 2–2 | Spain | ||
13 | 16 March 1941 | Bilbao | Spain | 5–1 | Portugal | |
14 | 13 March 1945 | Lisbon | Portugal | 2–2 | Spain | |
15 | 6 May 1945 | La Coruña | Spain | 4–2 | Portugal | |
16 | 26 January 1947 | Lisbon | Portugal | 4–1 | Spain | |
17 | 20 March 1948 | Madrid | Spain | 2–0 | Portugal | |
18 | 20 March 1949 | Lisbon | Portugal | 1–1 | Spain | |
19 | 2 April 1950 | Madrid | 1950 FIFA World Cup qualification | Spain | 5–1 | Portugal |
20 | 9 April 1950 | Lisbon | Portugal | 2–2 | Spain | |
21 | 3 June 1956 | Friendly | Portugal | 3–1 | Spain | |
22 | 13 April 1958 | Madrid | Spain | 1–0 | Portugal | |
23 | 15 November 1964 | Porto | Portugal | 2–1 | Spain | |
24 | 26 September 1979 | Vigo | Spain | 1–1 | Portugal | |
25 | 20 June 1981 | Porto | Portugal | 2–0 | Spain | |
26 | 17 June 1984 | Marseille | UEFA Euro 1984 | Portugal | 1–1 | Spain |
27 | 16 January 1991 | Castellón | Friendly | Spain | 1–1 | Portugal |
28 | 15 January 1992 | Torres Novas | Portugal | 0–0 | Spain | |
29 | 19 January 1994 | Vigo | Spain | 2–2 | Portugal | |
30 | 13 February 2002 | Barcelona | 1–1 | |||
31 | 6 September 2003 | Guimarães | Portugal | 0–3 | Spain | |
32 | 20 June 2004 | Lisbon | UEFA Euro 2004 | Spain | 0–1 | Portugal |
33 | 29 June 2010 | Cape Town | 2010 FIFA World Cup | Spain | 1–0 | Portugal |
34 | 17 November 2010 | Lisbon | Friendly | Portugal | 4–0 | Spain |
35 | 27 June 2012 | Donetsk | UEFA Euro 2012 | Portugal | 0–0 (2–4p) |
Spain |
36 | 15 June 2018 | Sochi | 2018 FIFA World Cup | Portugal | 3–3 | Spain |
37 | 7 October 2020 | Lisbon | Friendly | Portugal | 0–0 | Spain |
Unofficial matches
An additional three matches have been played between the countries which are not considered official (although are included in some media articles relating to the rivalry and in some statistical tallies of caps for the players involved):[18][19][20][21][22]
- In May 1927, Spain played a friendly against Portugal in Madrid[23][24][25] on the same day as they played Italy in Rome.[26][27][28][29] The squad for the Italy game was more experienced and considered to be stronger, while several players in the Portugal match made their debuts; consequently the Spain team is considered to have been equivalent to its B team[30] (although they won their match while the A team lost theirs)[29] and thus not a full international.
- Following the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, no official matches were played by Spain until 1941.[31] The vast majority of the squad in 1936[32] either originated from the Basque provinces, or played for FC Barcelona in Catalonia, both of which were initially within Republican territory in the conflict. The Basque players formed their own quasi-national team and left Spain to play a long series of exhibition matches on tour around Eastern Europe[33] and Latin America[34] to provide funds and exposure for local causes, and Barcelona did likewise;[35] most of the players in both groups never returned.[31] Back in Spain, as the Nationalist side took control of more of the country, General Franco saw the opportunity to use football as a positive propaganda tool, and arranged for a match to be played in his home region of Galicia against Portugal, whose leader Salazar was supportive of Francoist Spain.[31][36][37][38] Recognition was granted by FIFA at short notice and the match took place in Vigo in November 1937. In contrast to Portugal's settled squad, the Spain pool was hastily assembled from the best available players in Nationalist areas, and Portugal won for their first victory over their neighbours.[36][37][39][40] A return match was arranged for the following January in Lisbon, also won by Portugal,[31][41][38] and which attracted attention when three local players refused to give the Roman salute before kick-off; they were initially imprisoned, but were soon released due to the political influence held by the hierarchy of the club they played for, Belenenses.[36][37]
# | Date | Venue | Competition | Result | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
N/A[lower-alpha 1] | 29 May 1927[23][24][25] | Madrid | Unofficial friendly[29] | Spain B | 2–0 | Portugal |
N/A[lower-alpha 2] | 28 November 1937[42][43] | Vigo | Unofficial friendly[31][36][37][39][40] | Spain | 1–2 | Portugal |
N/A[lower-alpha 3] | 30 January 1938[44][45][41] | Lisbon | Unofficial friendly[31][36][37] | Portugal | 1–0 | Spain |
- Taking all matches into account, this would have been the 7th meeting.
- Taking all matches into account, this would have been the 13th meeting.
- Taking all matches into account, this would have been the 14th meeting.
Statistics
Overall
Matches | Wins | Draws | Goals | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Portugal | Spain | Portugal | Spain | |||
FIFA World Cup* | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 22 |
UEFA European Championship | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2** | 2 | 1 |
All competitions | 9 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 23 |
Friendly | 28 | 5 | 12 | 11 | 35 | 52 |
All matches | 37 | 6 | 16 | 15 | 44 | 75 |
- ^* Matches for FIFA World Cup includes qualification matches from 1934 and 1950 edition.
- ^** Spain defeated Portugal 4-2 on penalties at UEFA Euro 2012 semi-finals.
Top goalscorers
# | Player | FIFA World Cup | FIFA World Cup qualification | UEFA European Championship | UEFA European Championship qualifying | Friendly | All matches |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Isidro Lángara5 | — | 7 | — | — | 2 | 9 |
2 | Fernando Peyroteo | — | — | — | — | 7 | 7 |
3 | Telmo Zarra | — | 3 | — | — | 3 | 6 |
4 | Francisco Palmeiro | — | — | — | — | 3 | 3 |
Cristiano Ronaldo | 3 | — | — | — | — | 3 | |
José Travassos | — | 1 | — | — | 2 | 3 | |
Epifanio Fernández | — | — | — | — | 3 | 3 | |
César Rodríguez | — | — | — | — | 3 | 3 | |
Gaspar Rubio | — | — | — | — | 3 | 3 | |
José Luis Zabala | — | — | — | — | 3 | 3 |
5 Player scored 5 goals
References
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- "Portugal 2-2 Spain". www.goal.com. goal. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- "Santillana saves Spain against Portugal". www.uefa.com. UEFA. 4 October 2003. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- "Spain 0-1 Portugal". www.BBC.com. BBC. 20 June 2004. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- Bevan, Chris. "Spain 1-0 Portugal". BBC News. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
- "Spain's Villa, Argentine Refs send Portugal packing for deserved summer vacation". livesoccertv.com. Retrieved 11 July 2010.
- Gaffer, The (2010-06-30). "David Villa's Goal for Spain Against Portugal Was Offside: 3D Video". Worldcupbuzz.com. Retrieved 2012-04-01.
- "Carvalho: Offside". Goal.com. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
- "World Cup 2010: Argentina Coach Diego Maradona Claims 'Horrible' Refereeing Helped Spain Beat Portugal". chelseafc.com. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
- Lusitan (2010-06-29). "Reaction: "We could have gone further"". Portugoal.net. Retrieved 2012-04-01.
- "Villa was offside". iafrica.com. Archived from the original on 2010-07-08. Retrieved 2010-07-11.
- Burke, Chris (27 June 2012). "Spain survive test of nerve to reach final". www.uefa.com. UEFA. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- Smith, Ben (27 June 2012). "Cesc Fabregas was the hero again as Spain kept alive their hopes of defending the European title with a dramatic shootout win in Dontesk". www.bbc.com. BBC. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- "Full-time report Portugal-Spain" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 27 June 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- Jennings, Patrick (15 June 2018). "Cristiano Ronaldo produced one of the great World Cup performances as his dramatic late free-kick earned Portugal a draw with Spain in a classic encounter in Sochi". www.bbc.com. BBC. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
- "Portugal 3-3 Spain: Cristiano Ronaldo's first World Cup hat-trick secures draw". www.skysports.com. skysports. 15 June 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
- "Match report – Group B – Portugal-Spain" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
- "España vs. Portugal: rivalidad y revancha" [Spain vs. Portugal: rivalry and revenge]. Marca (in Spanish). 26 June 2010. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
- "Regueiro: Pedro Regueiro Pagola [List of matches / Spain National Team]". BDFutbol. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
- "National football team player: Jorge Vieira". EU-football.info. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
- "National football team player: Pinga". EU-football.info. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
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- "29/05/1927: España 2 - 0 Portugal". BDFutbol. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
- "Spain v Portugal, 29 May 1927". 11v11.com. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
- "International football match: 29.05.1927 Italy v Spain". EU-football.info. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
- "29/05/1927: Italia 2 - 0 España". BDFutbol. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
- "Italy v Spain, 29 May 1927". 11v11.com. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
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- Alberto Cosín (1 May 2014). "La hipotética selección española en el Mundial 1938" [The hypothetical Spanish national team in the 1938 World Cup]. Kaiser Football (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 March 2019.
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