Portugal plunder Iberian bragging rights

Spain's preparations for next summer's UEFA European Under-21 Championship finals suffered a major setback as Juan Ramón López Caro's side slipped to a 4-1 friendly loss in Portugal.

Costly errors
Spain qualified thanks to a narrow play-off win over Switzerland, and the defensive mishaps that marred the second leg of that tie resurfaced as the visitors made life easy for their hosts at the Estádio Municipal do Cartaxo. Daniel Parejo did equalise after Rui Fonte had opened the scoring for the hosts, but Orlando Sá scored a hat-trick to wrap up a convincing win.

Level pegging
Spain dominated possession early on, but Club Atlético de Madrid defender Álvaro Domínguez's mistake allowed Rui Fonte to slot in on 21 minutes. The lead barely lasted two minutes, however, as Miguel Vítor handled Adrián's shot inside the Portugal box and Parejo stepped up to convert emphatically.

Free headers
The home side – who failed to make next June's finals in Sweden after finishing a distant second to England in their group – retook the lead in the 37th minute when Orlando Sá headed in Bruno Pereirinha's cross. The forward then made it 3-1 just before the break when he again found himself free to head home another Pereirinha centre. With the second half just ten minutes old, Spain conceded again as substitute Yazalde gave Orlando Sá the chance to complete his treble.

Portugal: Rui Patrício (Ventura, 45); Miguel Vítor (Yazalde, 45), Stélvio, Carriço, Ruben Lima; Gonçalves (Bura, 57), Castro (João Martins, 63), Pereirinha, Candeias (João Aurélio, 80); Orlando Sá, Rui Fonte.

Spain: Sergio Asenjo; Azpilicueta, Domínguez, Echaide (Javi Martínez, 45), Balenciaga (Canella, 57); Aarón, Camacho, Busquets, Parejo (Raúl Ruiz, 83); Adrián (Bueno, 70), Fran Merida (Jordi Alba, 83).