Portugal vs Spain Preview

Portugal and Spain will look to become the first nation to win the Nations League on two separate occasions when both sides meet this Sunday in this year’s final at the Allianz Arena.

Portugal won the inaugural Nations League while Spain are the defending champions after beating France to win the trophy last year.

Portugal booked their place in Sunday’s showpiece event on Wednesday when they came from behind to record a 2-1 win over Germany – the first time they had won that particular fixture in 25 years. Roberto Martínez will now be targeting a first victory for his current side over his birthplace Spain since 2010 (D4, L2), with Portugal failing to win either of their two previous Nations League H2Hs (D1, L1) and scoring just once across the last four meetings overall.

Finding the back of the net has not been an issue for them in this Nations League campaign though, having scored 2+ goals in six of their nine games (W6, D2, L1) and six goals from the hour mark onwards, including extra time, over their last two matches.

The same cannot be said of free-scoring Spain who scored five times on Thursday to record a 5-4 win over France.

They have won seven of their last eight Nations League fixtures (D1), scoring 23 times in the process, excluding their penalty-shootout triumph over the Netherlands at the quarter-final stage.

Currently European champions and Nations League holders, Spain will be contesting their third successive final in the latter competition. They lost 2-1 to France at the San Siro in 2021, before beating Croatia on penalties in Rotterdam two years later. Victory here will see them go to next year’s World Cup with the opportunity of holding all three major international trophies open to them.