Spain vs Portugal World Cup preview: This game is all about not losing says Michel Salgado

EXCLUSIVE
James Benge14 June 2018

It is rare that a World Cup group stage throws up what might justifiably be termed a derby but that is what Friday’s Iberian matchup brings.

And Michel Salgado has warned that neither Portugal nor Spain can afford to lose their opening match as they vie for top spot in Group B.

Spain might have been strong favourites for the clash in Sochi at the start of this week but the sacking of Julen Lopetegui, with sporting director Fernando Hierro taking his place, after Real Madrid announced his appointment after the World Cup, has piled pressure on the 2010 world champions.

“It’s a tricky game. There’s the rivalry of Iberia from so many years ago and there is the fear to lose the first game,” Salgado told Standard Sport before the announcement of Lopetegui’s departure.

“The group is really tricky. Iran, I know them really well. Their manager, Carlos Queiroz, knows his team really well and individually they are really good players. Morocco are the same. Their manager [Herve Renard] has made them really good in defence, they only conceded a single goal in qualifying.

“It’s a really tricky game and we’ve got in front of us Cristiano Ronaldo, a very important guy in Spain and Real Madrid.

“We know the way they’ll play. They’re going to be really defensive and counter-attacking. They did it in the Euros but it worked. They’re the European champions.

“This game is going to be all about not losing.”

For all the off-field concerns Spain enter the tournament with a formidable squad, most notably a midfield that includes Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, Thiago Alcantara, David Silva and Isco.

Salgado departed the international stage in 2006 just as the side that would dominate world football between 2008 and 2012 was taking form, with the likes of Xavi, Iniesta and Sergio Ramos already in the squad.

Since then much has changed for Spain, not least in their approach to games.

Getty Images

“I believe not only in our team but in our style of play,” Salgado added. “Over the last 20 years we have shown a belief in the way we play football.

“In the past Spain was all about furia, wrath, we had to win the games by putting our hearts on the pitch. Then we changed everything from the academies up. We are talking about a style of play where we control the game through intelligence. We aren’t only using our hearts, we’re using our brains.”

Of course there is one player who embodies the furia as much as the technical standard of Spain.

Real Madrid captain Ramos has embraced his ‘heel turn’ over recent months, never more so than in the Champions League Final, and provides the hard-nosed mentality to complement Spain’s midfield wizardry.

Betfair ambassador Salgado said: “Sergio Ramos is the perfect example of what we were in the past. That’s why he’s the skipper, he brings the character to the pitch.

“When we need to win games he puts his heart into it, but he still has everything necessary to play in a modern style.”

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