Portugal, Spain in World Cup face-off
Ronaldo and Iniesta will clash in Group B’s biggest match of the first round at next year’s World
Cup in Moscow. AGENCIES PHOTOS
What you need to know:
- SOCCER. Andrés Iniesta, who scored the World Cup winning goal for Spain in the 2010 World Cup held in South Africa, will meet reigning Fifa World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal men in the standout fixture of the preliminary round.
MOSCOW.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal will come up against Spain in the standout fixture of the group stage of the 2018 World Cup, while England were handed an encounter with a dangerous Belgium side in Friday’s draw in Moscow.
Spain, the 2010 World Cup winners, have been revitalised under Julen Lopetegui after underperforming in recent years and were seen as the team to avoid after missing out on a place among the top seeds.
It was Portugal, the reigning European champions, who were handed an Iberian derby in a glitzy ceremony held at the Moscow Kremlin and featuring an appearance from Russian President Vladimir Putin alongside Fifa president Gianni Infantino.
The draw also laid out all sides’ potential routes to the final, and revealed such tantalising prospects as a quarter-final between Spain and Argentina, and possible semi-finals of Spain against Germany or France versus Brazil.
Spain’s match against Portugal is a mouthwatering early prospect, though, with the fixture set for the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Friday June 15. “They are the champions of Europe, they have fantastic players and we are talking about the highest level,” coach Lopetegui told Spanish TV station Cuatro.
Real Madrid star Ronaldo will be 33 come next year’s finals, meaning this will probably be his last shot at World Cup glory.
Meanwhile, reigning world champions Germany, the much-fancied Brazil of Neymar, and France will all be pleased with their draws, but the prospects appear tougher for Argentina. They will come up against Croatia, Nigeria and Iceland.
