On Thursday, Portugal denied Spain a winning start in the Nations League when a late equalizer canceled out Alvaro Morata’s first-half goal from Ricardo Horta.
Morata scored after a brilliant counter-attack, and when Cristiano Ronaldo came on for Portugal in the second half, it was another replacement, Horta, who equalized with eight minutes remaining.
Eight years after his debut, the Braga striker was making his second appearance for Portugal. He expressed his pride by saying, “I feel proud.” “I wanted to prove that I deserved to be here.”
With games against Switzerland and the Czech Republic to remain, none of the two Group A2 favorites can claim an early edge. On Sunday, Spain will face the Czech Republic in Prague, while Portugal will host Switzerland at home.
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“We’ve got opportunities to score, but we’ve failed to do so, and they’ve equalized. We must continue to work, “According to Morata.
Both of these sides will be regarded as contenders for the World Cup in Qatar later this year.
Still, Spain’s young side looked the more complete in an unexpectedly combative and intense match at the Benito Villamarin after another long and exhausting season.
With 26 goals in 53 appearances, Morata is Spain’s joint-seventh best scorer. At the same time, Sergio Busquets made his 135th appearance for the national team, moving him ahead of Xavi Hernandez and behind only Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos on the all-time list.
But it was Gavi’s 17-year-old run and ball set up Morata’s goal, and the Barcelona midfielder was perhaps the best player on the pitch, putting in another impressive display that delighted Luis Enrique.
“I got the impression that Gavi is still relatively obscure in Spanish football,” Luis Enrique stated. “He is not only a great runner and fighter, but he is also a superb offensive player. He can score and shoot with both feet. He is one of a kind.”
Last year, Spain reached the final of the Nations League, defeating European champions Italy in the semis before losing to France. They had a relatively easy World Cup qualifying campaign, finishing first in Group B with 19 points out of 24.
On the other hand, Portugal had to qualify via the play-offs, defeating Turkey and North Macedonia to escape a humiliating departure, and there are still worries about Fernando Santos’ ability to find the ideal formula to fit his plethora of offensive possibilities.
It was a Portugal assault that gave Spain the lead in the 25th minute when Joao Cancelo’s attempted flick left the ball loose, and Gavi sprinted to intercept it.
With alternatives in front of him, the youngster drove beyond the halfway line and slid the ball straight to Morata, who let it run for Pablo Sarabia outside the area before going on into the box. Sarabia slipped the ball over for a clear finish by Morata.
Carlos Soler could have made it two before half-time after a beautiful ball down the line put Gavi free, and his pull-back found Soler, whose initial effort was stopped by Diogo Costa, but his second went over the bar.
The finest opportunity for Portugal came early in the second half when Andre Silva did brilliantly to set up Rafael Leao on the left side of the penalty area. Still, Unai Simon saved him with his legs.
In the 82nd minute, Cancelo made up for his earlier blunder by exchanging a slick one-two with Goncalo Guedes down the right before hitting a cross into Horta, who was all alone and made no mistake.
Alba might have won it for Spain late, but his header went wide, forcing both sides to settle for a draw.
