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Spain are clicking at just the right time, and that's bad news for Portugal
Spain and Portugal reignite their rivalry in Dallas this evening, but the latter should be fearing their opponents.
Portugal may have beaten Spain to last year's UEFA Nations League title, but at this World Cup, Roberto Martinez's side have not been the real deal.
There were similar concerns about Spain when they failed to beat Cape Verde in their opening game despite mounting a barrage on goal, however, those concerns have quickly vanished with Spain hitting a groove and making tournament football look easy.
Spain's sharp attack is thriving
When Spain first rose to prominence on the international stage, they would pass opponents to death, and win by the odd goal.
This sometimes led to criticisms of Spain's style of play being classed as boring, but over the last few years, they have been more exciting in front of goal.
Putting Spain and Portugal's attack head-to-head, the former trumps their Iberian rivals in almost every aspect despite both scoring eight goals in this World Cup so far.
| Portugal | Spain | |
| Total shots | 13.25 | 17.75 |
| Shots on target | 4.25 | 7 |
| Chances created | 7.5 | 12.25 |
Statistics are per match
But while 18-year-old superstar Lamine Yamal is at the centre of this attack, Spain have a striker in Mikel Oyarzabal who is the focal point.
Spain can do all the passing and dominate possession as they want, but it comes to nothing if they are unable to create and score chances. Oyarzabal has proven that he is the man to finish off at times mesmerising passages of his play.
He already he has four goals and one assist at this tournament, and the 29-year-old will be eager to add to his tally.
What makes him such an effective striker for Spain is the positions he finds in the opposition's box. All but two of his six shots on target are inside the box, playing perfectly into Spain's philosophy of working the ball into the danger areas and quick passing moves around the penalty area to create chances and score goals.
An attack creating plenty of chances, and a striker proving to be clinical in front of goal, takes Spain a step closer to being a near-perfect team, and with Portugal struggling with an ageing Croatia in the previous round, their Iberian neighbours will offer a more difficult test.
A defence chasing records
Spain's attack is being supported by a defence who with each passing match are setting records.
Goalkeeper Unai Simon has gone 519 World Cup minutes without conceding, surpassing Walter Zenga's record of 517 minutes, and it does not stop there.
Spain are just 41 minutes away from becoming the team with the longest time between conceding a World Cup goal, the record is currently held by Switzerland with 559 which stretches between 1994 and 2010.
Watch: Famous World Cup Last-Minute Goals
A team like Portugal which boasts attacking talent such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Rafael Leao and Bernardo Silva, there is every chance they could break Spanish hearts in chasing immortality.
However, Spain have been effective at keeping their opponents quiet. No team has managed a shot on target against La Roja in the opening 75 minutes and the impressive numbers do not stop there.
Spain lead the tournament for the fewest shots faced with 19, fewest shots on target (3) and lowest expected goals against at 0.85.
If Portugal are to beat Spain and advance to the quarter-finals, then it will have to be a performance for the ages against a team excelling in all departments.
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