European heavyweights Spain and Portugal battled to a 1-1 draw in their opening group game of the UEFA Nations League on Thursday night.
The Spaniards had the giant share of the possession in the first half and made their dominance count as Alvaro Morata found the back of the net in the 25th minute, off an assist by Pablo Sarabia. Both sides went into the interval with Spain holding the lead.
The second half saw Portugal make some changes – with captain Cristiano Ronaldo, Ricardo Horta, Ruben Neves and Guedes all coming in to try to alter the complexion of the game. Fernando Santos’ side tried to assert a bit more control and the equalizer duly came in the 82nd minute through substitute Ricardo Horta.
The game ended 1-1 as both sides will be looking to grab all three points in their next UEFA Nations League match.
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FULL-TIME AT THE ESTADIO BENITO VILLAMARIN: Spain 1-1 Portugal
82′ MIN: Ricardo Horta latches on to a precise pass inside the box and drills in a superb strike that finds its way into the middle of the net.
GOOOAAALLL!!! Spain 1-1 Portugal (R. Horta)
SECOND HALF UNDERWAY AT THE ESTADIO BENITO VILLAMARIN: Spain 1-0 Portugal
HALF-TIME AT THE ESTADIO BENITO VILLAMARIN: Spain 1-0 Portugal
25′ MIN: Alvaro Morata receives a delightful pass inside the box from Pablo Sarabia and smashes a low shot into the bottom left corner.
GOOOAAALLL!!! Spain 1-0 Portugal (A. Morata)
KICK-OFF AT THE ESTADIO BENITO VILLAMARIN: Spain 0-0 Portugal
As for Portugal, the most notable omission from the Starting XI is that of captain Cristiano Ronaldo, who is on the bench but Rafael Leao, Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes are all in the line-up.
Spain will have the duo of Alvaro Morata and Ferran Torres will lead the attack lines for the Red Fury as they bid to open their UEFA Nations League campaign on a positive note.
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