Spain vs Portugal Nations League preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, prediction, form guide
Thursday, June 2, 2022
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When is it? How can you watch it? All you need to know about the UEFA Nations League Group A2 game between Spain and Portugal.
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Spain and Portugal meet in UEFA Nations League Group A2 on Thursday 2 June.
Spain vs Portugal at a glance
When: Thursday 2 June (20:45 CET kick-off)
Where: Estadio Benito Villamarín, Seville
What: UEFA Nations League Group A2 fixture
How to follow: Build-up and live coverage will appear here
Where to watch Spain vs Portugal on TV
Fans can find their local UEFA Nations League broadcast partner(s) here.
Starting line-ups
Spain: Unai Simón; Azpilicueta, Diego Llorente, Pau Torres, Jordi Alba; Soler, Sergio Busquets, Gavi; Ferran Torres, Morata, Sarabia
Portugal: Diogo Costa; João Cancelo, Pepe, Danilo, Guerreiro; Bruno Fernandes, João Moutinho, Otávio; Rafael Leão, André Silva, Bernardo Silva
Form guide
Spain (most recent match first): WWWWLW
Portugal (most recent match first): WWLDWW
Expert prediction
Joseph Walker, match reporter: Spain against Portugal is always a competitive encounter, and is one of those games capable of throwing up an all-time classic with goals galore, or a tense affair with both sides nullifying each other. The hosts, runners-up in the last edition of the Nations League, will want to lay down a marker as they start their campaign in front of a vibrant Seville crowd; however, inaugural winners Portugal will be hungry to regain their crown and claim local pride over their Iberian neighbours. An intriguing tie awaits.
What the coaches say
Luis Enrique, Spain coach: "The objective, as always, is to win all the games and win the competition. Our objective is always to aspire to the maximum. [Spain and Portugal] know each other well; they are very well-organised. You only have to look at what their players cost and on top of that they have recently won important titles. That motivates us."
Fernando Santos, Portugal coach: "This Nations League group contains some of the best teams in the world. We know it will be very difficult but our goal is to win it. Spain's strongest attribute is their ability to recover the ball. We want to continue our way of playing from our last two games [the World Cup play-offs wins against Turkey and North Macedonia]. We are not going to make big changes in this first game."
What happens after the UEFA Nations League group stage?
The four group winners in League A will advance to the knockout finals with, in principle, one appointed as hosts. The semi-finals will be played on 14 and 15 June 2023 with the final and third-place play-off to follow on 18 June.
The teams finishing fourth in the groups in Leagues A will be relegated to League B for the 2024/25 edition.