The curtain comes down on Tuesday on the activities of the first round of the third edition of the European Football Championship, and the Portuguese city of Braga is witnessing a new version of the derby of the Iberian Peninsula, where the Portuguese and Spanish teams meet in a strong struggle for the last seat in the semi-finals of this edition of the tournament.
The two teams are looking to snatch the qualification card from Group B to the semi-finals a few weeks before the 2022 World Cup.
The Portuguese team grabbed the top of the group with a 4-0 victory over its Czech host in the fifth round of group matches on Saturday, while Spain lost 1-2 to its Swiss guest in the same group to fall to second place in the group with 8 points, only two points behind its Spanish counterpart.
Therefore, the Portuguese national team has a better chance than its Spanish counterpart in today’s match, as it plays the match at its home in the “Municipal” stadium in Braga, and a draw is enough to resolve the last qualification card from the group stage to the semi-finals.
On the other hand, the Spanish team, led by coach Luis Enrique, will only have to win if he wants to complete his career in the tournament, which reached the final in its last edition.
And if the team loses or draws at the Portuguese national stadium, the semi-finals of this version will be devoid of both sides of the final match of the last version, after the French team, the defending champion, failed to cross to the semi-finals of the current version.
On a related line, the Dutch Football Association announced in Amsterdam that it is a candidate to host the semi-finals and final of the European Nations League competition next June.
After his country’s victory over Belgium 1-0 in the last sixth round of the group stage and reaching the semi-finals, the Dutch federation indicated that it would propose to hold matches in Rotterdam (Queep Stadium of Feyenoord Club) and Enschede (Le Gruelch Veste Stadium of FC Twente), because The Amsterdam Arena and Philipstadion Eindhoven will not be available in June.
The semi-finals will be held on June 14 and 15, and the final match on June 18.