2021 Nations League finalist Spain starts the new campaign with an Iberian derby against Portugal. This will be the 39th meeting between the sides and the third in as many years in recent times.
The two nations will face Switzerland and Czech Republic in Group D of League A in the other games in June. Whoever finishes first of the four at the end of matches in September will qualify for the playoffs while the bottom-placed team is relegated to League B.
ESP vs POR UEFA Nations League 2022-23 Match Details
Date: Thursday, 2nd June 2022/ Friday, 3rd June 2022
Time: 20:45 (CEST)/ 00:15 (IST)
Venue: Benito Villamarín, Seville
ESP vs POR UEFA Nations League 2022-23 Match Preview
Both the sides have to play four games in a span of two weeks in an unusual calendar for the Nations league so neither is in favour to gift each other any early grounds of progression. Additionally, these sets of games in the Nations League can be used as preparation for the World cup in Qatar in five months’ time. La Roja are in the mood to go one better than last season in the competition where they lost to France for the prize although facing rivals Portugal in the opener is a test of nerves. Though since the final last year in October, Spain have gone on a winning run securing a tight qualification race for the World Cup and registering victories in March over Albania and Iceland in fine fashion. They are bound to be optimistic ahead of facing tough opposition in a meaningful contest. Luis Enrique has once again opted to go for players who are workable for his tactics rather than name or form. The exclusion of David de Gea for Unai Simon is a repeated example of the former Barcelona manager's strategy in squad selection. He has kept faith in the likes of Sergio Busquets and Alvaro Morata making them the core of the team. Reaching the semi-finals of the Euros last summer and the final of the Nations League the same year could provide the squad with the right motivation to win silverware in near future.
For Portugal, manager Fernando Santos thinks the fixture list for the Nations league is exaggerated following an intense league season in Europe that concluded only a week ago. Like everyone else in the group, the Selecao have to play four games in a short amount of time so rotation has to be a factor. It will be necessary after the manager decided to bring in some fresh faces to blend in new blood with the experienced squad. Portugal also had to take the hard route to Qatar upon missing out on automatic qualification to the World Cup by beating Turkey and later North Macedonia in the playoffs. Their defeat to Serbia last November was the first since their elimination from the Euros and they have secured wins in seven of the last nine games. Santos’s men missed out on the qualification to the latter stages of the Nations League in the previous campaign, finishing second to France in their group with three points separating them from the world champions. Santos has refused to use the Nations League only as preparation for the World Cup. Instead, he is looking to guide his boys to another triumph in the competition. The inaugural winners are adamant for the prize and it will not taste sweeter than starting with a win over their closest rival.
Recent Form :
Spain: WWWWL
Portugal: WWLDW
ESP vs POR UEFA Nations League 2022-23 Team News :
Luis Enrique said Ansu Fati’s injury should be forgotten as he has recovered and the manager doesn’t want to give him trauma by not playing him. Fati will be given minutes but Enrique needs everyone to be 100% in a packed week. Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara has withdrawn from the squad due to a muscular injury he suffered before joining the group. He won’t feature for any game in June. No player will be called to replace him.
Portugal will be without Vitinha who caught Covid after making it into the squad. Scudetto winning hero for Milan, Rafael Leao has picked up a knock in training and is unlikely to make any impact on Thursday. Diogo Jota joined the camp late due to his exploits in the Champions League final with Liverpool so he is fighting for a place in the starting eleven. Ruben Dias has missed out through a muscle injury so Danilo Perreira will reprise his center-back role with Pepe set to earn his 125th cap for his country.
ESP vs POR UEFA Nations League 2022-23 Expected Lineups:
Spain: Unai Simón; Cesar Azpilicueta, Eric García, Pau Torres, Jordi Alba; Sergio Busquets, Koke, Gavi; Pablo Sarabia, Alvaro Morata, Ferran Torres
Portugal: Rui Patrício; João Cancelo, Pepe, Danilo Perreira, Raphael Guerreiro; Joao Moutinho, Otavio, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva; Cristiano Ronaldo, Diogo Jota
ESP vs POR UEFA Nations League 2022-23 Head to Head:
These two have not clashed in a competitive game since the dramatic 3-3 draw in the group stages of the 2018 World Cup. Both played two goalless friendlies in the last two years coming before competitive games for main tournaments. A lot more is at stake this time out and goals should be their customers for this one.
ESP vs POR UEFA Nations League 2022-23 Dream11 Prediction:
GK: Simon (8.5)
DEF: Cancelo (9), Pepe (8.5), P.Torres (8.5), Alba (9)
MID: B. Silva (9), Busquets (8.5), Fernandes (9)
FW: Jota (9.5), Morata (9.5), Ronaldo (10.5)
Captain: Cristiano Ronaldo
Vice-Captain: Bruno Fernandes
Stay tuned to Fantasy Football for upcoming matches.
