Today when Spain and Portugal meet for only the second time in World Cup competition, it will mark an epic showdown of not just the two biggest powers on the Iberian Peninsula (sorry, Andorra) but, once upon a time, the world.
Neither Spain and nor Portugal are currently be in the G-7 but 500 years ago, Spain and Portugal were basically the G-2. In 1494 Spain and Portugal were so dominant as colonial powers that they agreed to split the entire world between them in the Treaty of Tordesillas.
The two have fought over territory for years but nowadays the soccer pitch is mostly where they tend to dominate. The pair collectively own the last three European Championship titles with Portugal making the final in 2004. The two sides have played 35 times since their inception, with Spain holding a 15-7 advantage.
While it would be nice to see an all-out battle, it’s more likely the teams will be angling for a draw because it’s strategically beneficial: The quality gap between them and the other two teams in their group (Morocco and Iran) is so immense that it makes much more sense to not risk falling behind 3 points in the first game and then turn next round’s seeding into a contest between who can score more goals on Morocco and Iran.That’s not to say that one of the players might not just say “screw it with the whole 0-0 draw plan” and score a goal if he has a good shot. That’s when things could get interesting.
At the end of the day, it’s hard to say whether this game will matter. Because the draw is randomized after the top 8, the World Cup can lead to some pretty cruel injustices when teams that deserve to be in the top of their group have to claw their way against another superpower for top seeding (Case in point: Holland was victimized in 2006 by having the misfortune to draw Argentina in the first round, setting up a matchup against top seed Portugal in elimination). In this case, Spain and Portugal would be matched up in the second round against whomever advances from World Cup’s weakest group (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Uruguay). As a result, both teams should be fine.
But that’s just one of a number of interesting national rivalries playing out at the World Cup:
Argentina vs. Nigeria (June 26)
These two teams are meeting for their 5th time in seven World Cups with Argentina having won all four encounters so far. Nigeria’s proudest moment in soccer history, however, was upsetting Argentina in the finals of the 1996 Olympics to become the first African nation to win gold. (Most purists don’t count the Olympics as a serious soccer tournament.) But Argentina struck back, taking down Nigeria in the gold medal game in 2008, so these two countries have a long (and unlikely) rivalry .
Croatia vs. Iceland (June 26)
The sparsely populated surprise qualifier Iceland finished atop its qualifying group with Croatia a close second. Both teams took home victories in head-to-head matches. On paper, Croatia seems like a far superior team: Their starting 11 boasts stars from Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool, and Juventus, whereas Iceland has only two players in the Premier League (most of the rest play in Iceland’s home league). Then again, Iceland somehow won. So do you prefer the checker-flagged nation that takes credit for inventing the necktie and boasts beautiful Mediterranean cities or the nation of geothermal wonders and world-class fisheries? As someone who (true story) spent a couple weeks living on the grounds of an Icelandic soccer stadium and can’t find Croatia on a map, I’ll go with the former, but to each his own.
Poland vs. Colombia (June 24)
Considering Colombia was a quarterfinalist in 2014 and is returning their best players, one would think they’d be the top seed in a group with Poland, Japan and Senegal. But Poland took the top spot by gaming of the system. Poland lost to Portugal in penalty kicks in the Euro 2016 quarterfinals—which technically counts as a tie, And they only played one friendly in the intervening two years, which made them artificially safe from hits in their rankings from losses. Though they qualified with a clean 8-1-1 record, it was through a relatively easy group. But Poland’s status as “top seed” doesn’t mean much once group competition is underway.
Egypt vs. Russia (June 19)
The main question here is which totalitarian regime you are more comfortable tacitly supporting. Russia has the Putin regime, but Egypt also boasts double-digit employment, runaway inflation, and a military president who many believe stole the last election. Also in Group A: Saudi Arabia, which isn’t quite as corrupt, but isn’t liberal or democratic, either. Rounding out Group Awful is Uruguay. Why is Uruguay so bad? It’s the most stable democracy in South America—their misdeeds are on the field, where they cheated their way to the semifinals in 2010 and star Luis Suarez somehow got away with biting an opponent in 2014.
Spain vs. Morocco (June 25)
It’s always fun to have match-ups featuring mother countries against former colonies. The past few World Cups have had Portugal versus Brazil (2010), Portugal versus Angola (2006), Spain versus Paraguay (2002 and 2010), France versus Senegal (2002), Spain versus Chile (2010 and 2014), England versus Nigeria (2002) and, because of a weird chapter in Mexican history that gave birth to Cinco de Mayo, France versus Mexico (2010).
Sadly, the closest we’ll get to that in the first round this year is Morocco versus Spain. Aside form Spain’s protectorate over Morocco, the two sides both have laid claim to a disputed territory called the Western Sahara which Morocco and separatist tribes have both claimed ownership since Spain decolonized the region in 1975.
But the biggest rivalry game we’re likely to see in this World Cup, if the stars align, is . . .
England vs. Argentina: Why do these two countries have the sport’s biggest international rivalry? Well, Argentina and England have the rare trifecta of (1) Both being consistently in the upper echelons of the sport; (2) Having recently fought a lopsided war; and (3) Having played each other in a contentious game that basically determined the World Cup champion. As an added bonus, the historic consensus is that in this aforementioned game, the 1986 semi-final, Diego Maradona cheated with a hand ball, which he later called “the hand of God.” The two have met only twice in the 32-team era: In 1998, it was a rousing 2-2 game that ended in penalty kicks in favor of the Argentines and in 2002, it was a slightly less exciting opening round game that was won on a David Beckham penalty. If they meet again in an elimination game, expect sparks to fly.
