Dallas Stadium is the place to be as Portugal and Spain seek to knock each other out of the World Cup and move on to the quarter-finals.
Reaching the last eight would demand that either of these teams should be taken seriously as contenders to win the lot but progress to this point couldn’t have been more different.
- Kick-off time: 8:00pm BST / 3:00pm ET / 5:00am AEST (Tue)
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Eight years ago, Portugal and Spain met in the World Cup group stage in Sochi. The 3-3 draw didn’t do either any harm as both went on to win one and draw one of their next two matches.
Ronaldo made himself the oldest scorer of a World Cup hat-trick with a little help from Spain goalkeeper David De Gea. He’s been surpassed now but he’s still going, still the focal point of the Portuguese team, still undroppable and arguably having a detrimental effect overall.
Yet he’s still added three goals to his World Cup tally, an indicator of his importance to Portugal even if the extent of that importance is overblown by Roberto Martinez at the cost of a coherent attacking unit.
Spain’s 3-0 win over Austria was their first World Cup knockout win since they won the final in 2010. Head coach Luis de la Fuente has pushed them beyond that hurdle with no fuss and now things get serious.
The historical advantage belongs to Spain, and Portugal have won none of their last seven games against Spain in normal time. The most recent meeting just a year ago was noteworthy, however.
Portugal won the final of the UEFA Nations League in June 2025 and they did so on penalties. Could they repeat the feat in Texas?
Portugal vs Spain: Q+A
What time does Portugal vs Spain kick-off?
Portugal vs Spain kicks off at 8pm BST which is 3pm ET and 1pm PT.
Have Portugal and Spain faced each other in the World Cup before?
Portugal and Spain have met twice at the World Cup, with Spain winning 1-0 in the 2010 World Cup Round of 16 and the teams drawing 3-3 in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup.
FourFourTwo’s prediction
Portugal 1-3 Spain
Sooner or later, Portugal will wish they had a less one-dimensional plan of attack.
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