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Euro 2012 Semifinals: Spain vs. Portugal

Spain   Portugal

Iberian rivals Spain and Portugal do battle for one place in the Euro 2012 finals, squaring off at Donbass Stadium in Ukraine as the tournament semifinals get underway (2:45 p.m., ESPN/ESPN3.com).

Spain manager Vicente Del Bosque has sprung one major surprise in the defending champions' lineup. Not only is he starting a natural striker, but that striker is Sevilla's Alvaro Negredo, not Fernando Torres or Fernando Llorente. Negredo has played in one match in Euro 2012, coming off the bench for a one-minute cameo against Croatia in the final match of the group stage.

Portugal's lineup, meanwhile, is the XI expected from coach Paulo Bento. Hugo Almeida has taken the place of injured forward Helder Postiga, and Cristiano Ronaldo, who has found his form on the international stage in leading Portugal out of the Group of Death and past the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals, will look to keep his hot streak going while exacting revenge on Spain for a defeat at the 2010 FIFA World Cup's Round of 16.

If you will be watching today's match, please feel free to share any thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below. Enjoy the action.

Comments

  1. I thought it had enough real stellar moments by the Spanish when Iniesta and crew short passed their way around but all to often a break or something was cut short by someone stopping and dropping and rolling. A lot of players caught fire but they always know how to put it out. I thought Cristiano’s phantom back pain at the end of OT was classic.

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  2. the Cristiano’s messed up bad on the penalty kicks. Bruno Alvez was ready to take his penalty and then Nani runs up and takes instead. Alvez was shaken out of his focus and when it was finally his turn everyone in my house agreed that he was going to miss because he got iced by his own coach or Cristiano himself. He hit the bar trying to impossibly place it in the upper upper 90. Fabregas is money on the next one and La Roja wins it. What a game! Cristiano doesn’t even get to take his penalty in the end.

    Both teams had chances but Spain was the more dominant in this one and is the deserving winners.

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  3. what a LOUSY game. not a good exhibition of the beautiful game at all. but PKs are dramatic so there is that I guess

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  4. no, mistake gutless CR, if he wanted to take a shot he should have been one of the early ones, hes a gutless POS who will always live in Messi’s shadow

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  5. Fabregas closes off the post! Spain goes on, and Ronaldo is denied even a try in the PK shootout! I can’t believe that. Mistake Portugal

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  6. Portugal got what they wanted: a 50/50 chance with penalty kicks.
    Cristiano did what he does best…. disappear in a big game.

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  7. Pedro break free behind at midfield with great win from Cesc, but Portugal hustle back in numbers to clear away the threat

    thought Spain was going to score that time

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  8. Iniesta with the chance…on goal with the touch but too close to the keeper…save by Patricio nicely

    Ramos free kick close to upper 90 but No…well taken tho to end 1st OT

    2nd OT moving along now

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  9. Someone needs to tell this official that he cannot block a free kick from being taken unless the team asks for 10 yards. Its even more ridiculous that he blocked it to allow Portugal to get back and defend.

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  10. ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh chance of the game wasted by Ronaldo…he’ll have nightmares if Portugal go on to lose

    90th minute it was!

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  11. BAHAHAHAHAHAHa and they say Arjen Robbin is a choker, way to blow your best chance youve had all game Ronaldo.

    messi would have finished that

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  12. hyperbole just detracts from your argument.

    i think he’s just an ‘all-or-nothing’ type. when it’s on, it’s mind-blowing. when it’s off, it’s laughable.

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  13. It’s hilarious to see Cristiano do his peacock dance before a free kick only to either blast it into the wall or way up in the stands.
    Easily one of the worst free kick takers ever.

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  14. Also, Spain often wants to slow the game down and pass, so when an opposing team applies quick high pressure, you can see them get flustered.

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  15. Agreed. Though I also thought both Croatia and Italy showed pretty well against them compared with France. Spain have looked a bit flat, but also those two teams tried to take the game to Spain more than others have in the past.

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  16. Roberto Martinez nailed it in his halftime summary. Portugal looks like the team with 2 days extra rest, and moreso, are displaying self-belief that they can win; Martinez said it’s the most belief he’s seen from a team vs. Spain in 4 years

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  17. Bold move but one has to believe that a move like this will light a fire for Torres to come in as a late substitute to spark some magic into the team if the game is close.

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  18. Outstanding, the Negredo surprise, this is going to help Spain a lot against Portugal. A bold move like that, such as Jogi Low did with the Germany line-up against Greece, is exactly what Del Bosque needed to do. My faith is mostly restored in Del Bosque, although I would have maybe liked to have seen him pull Xavi, who has not impressed thus far.

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