World Cup 2018: Spain and Portugal camps in chaos ahead of first clash of big beasts

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Spain and Portugal meet here this evening in an intriguing World Cup clash utterly overshadowed in both camps by matters off the field.

All the pre-match talk in this sleepy seaside town has been about the Spanish, whose preparations for the tournament could hardly have been more disastrous or embarrassing following the sacking of coach Julen Lopetegui on Wednesday.

But Portugal have a crisis of their own to contend with. Four of Fernando Santos’ squad are without a club after walking out on their contracts at Sporting Lisbon following fan unrest after the club missed out on Champions League qualification.

Lopetegui was dismissed by Luis Rubiales, the Spanish Football Federation president, for accepting the Real Madrid job a day earlier. He has been replaced by Fernando Hierro, a statesmanlike former Real defender who joined the Federation as Spain’s director of football a month ago.

Around the same time as Lopetegui was being unveiled as Zinedine Zidane’s successor alongside Real president Florentino Perez in Madrid, Spain captain Ramos and Hierro were addressing a heaving auditorium in the Fisht Olympic Stadium here.

Ramos rubbished reports of dressing-room divisions and insisted nothing would distract the players from the task at hand, while Hierro, who was asked just three questions in a Ramos-dominated affair, smiled politely, quite unlike a man who has been parachuted into the midst of a crisis.

“There is no split [in the squad] whatsoever,” said Ramos, who is also the Real captain. “We have different opinions; that’s normal, it’s part of being human. We’re here to win the World Cup and nothing and no-one is going to change that. We need to leave these personal issues aside. The sooner we can focus on football, the better. We have the same ambitions and dreams as two days ago. I don’t want to talk about it any more. I’d rather turn a page.”

If Ramos and Hierro presented a convincing united front, 2,000 miles away in the Spanish capital so, too, did Lopetegui and Perez in a bizarre unveiling. The new Real boss broke down in tears, describing Wednesday as the saddest day of his life after his mother’s death, and he was jeered by sections of the media but cheered by Real supporters, who had been allowed into the press conference.

This circus would usually have played into the hands of their opponents, but the situation is far from rosy in the Portugal camp.

The futures of Rui Patricio, William Carvalho, Gelson Martins and Bruno Fernandes are shrouded in uncertainty. The quartet terminated their contracts, citing “just cause”, after 50 fans stormed Sporting’s training ground and attacked players and staff because the club missed out on Champions League qualification on the final day of the season.

No doubt, Santos would have been happier to field questions about Spain’s crisis than his squad’s troubles, even if he was irritable by the end of his own pre-match briefing yesterday.

“I have responded to that already,” he replied to yet another question about Lopetegui. “It’s Spain and Portugal. Spain has played the same way for the last 10 years. I am not expecting any surprises.”

Santos is well aware that the match is likely to be dominated by Spain, but that will suit the 63-year-old and his team. Hierro promised that Spain would continue to be the “protagonists” in style and they are expected to control possession tonight.

Santos has twice led teams to European Championship success — with Greece in 2004 and Portugal two years ago — playing a compact, defensive and reactive style of football. His side will be happy to sit back and allow Spain to keep possession, while launching counter-attacks of their own.

Cristiano Ronaldo, will be tasked with finishing any Portuguese ventures into Spanish territory and his battle with club-mate Ramos is one of many intriguing sub-plots. Ronaldo and Ramos have been mainstays of Real’s recent Champions League dominance but that will be forgotten here.

Manchester City’s Silvas — Spain’s David and Portugal’s Bernardo — are likely to be the creative hubs of their sides.

Yesterday, Portugal won the battle to play down a crisis and they could prove the perfect team to combat this gifted Spanish side, if they can overcome their problem with slow starts at tournaments and dismal records at World Cups.

A confident Ramos was keen to stress that Spain’s players would “do our talking on the pitch”.

We will not have to wait long to discover which of these nations has been most affected by their pre-tournament troubles.

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