With a late goal from Alvaro Morata, Spain defeated Portugal 1-0 and snatched a spot in the Nations League Finals from their hosts in Braga.
Spain needed to win to overtake Fernando Santos’ side atop Group A2, but they appeared to be frustrated, with Portugal having the better of the first-half chances.
After the break, however, Luis Enrique’s substitutions changed the game, and Nico Williams’ header across goal was smashed in by Morata to steal a crucial victory.
Spain will join Croatia, Italy, and the Netherlands in next year’s tournament, leaving Portugal to rue missed opportunities and sloppy defending in the closing stages.
Despite dominating possession early on, Portugal nearly opened the scoring with a fierce Ruben Neves drive that Unai Simon punched away.
After 33 minutes, Diogo Jota exquisitely jinked onto his right foot in the box before shooting at goal, but Simon was alert once more, tipping wide.
While Bruno Fernandes’ long-range effort into the side-netting had Simon scrambling before halftime, the goalkeeper came up with another key save early in the second half to deny Cristiano Ronaldo from a tight angle.
After an hour, Spain still hadn’t registered a shot on target, so Luis Enrique brought on Barcelona’s Pedri and Gavi in the hopes of turning the game in his favor, but it was fellow substitute Williams who made the decisive contribution.
Morata had already come close on a couple of occasions as Portugal keeper Diogo Costa was finally put to the test, and the Atletico Madrid striker netted the winner in dramatic fashion after Williams’ header.
What does it imply? The men of Luis Enrique were fortunate to win.
Spain’s attacking performance was lackluster for the majority of the 90 minutes, but Morata’s winner means they won’t care.
The visitors’ expected goals totaled 1.16, but their goal accounted for 0.85 of that total. They might not have had many complaints if Portugal had made the final four.
Wonderful Morata
For much of the game, Spain struggled to create chances, but Morata was usually involved when they did.
He attempted four and assisted on another of their ten attempts, accounting for three of five shots on goal, including the game-winning goal.
Torres is a monster.
Ferran Torres did not play well before being replaced by Luis Enrique with Spain needing a goal.
He completed 59.1% of his passes and failed to register a key pass before being replaced by Williams, who assisted Morata’s winner.
What comes next?
Both teams are scheduled to play one more friendly before the World Cup, with Portugal taking on Nigeria on November 16 and Spain taking on Jordan the following day.