Each of the last seven meetings between Spain and Portugal have either ended in draws, or by a winning margin of one goal.
Portugal tied Spain 3-3 in their last World Cup meeting during the 2018 group stage.
The three UEFA Nations League meetings in the last three years featured a 1-1 draw, a 1-0 Spain win and a Spain victory on penalties.
Portugal has to draw motivation from those results that it can play tough against a Spanish side that looked much better so far in the tournament.
The key for Portugal will be to control the midfield battle through Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha and Joao Neves.
Portugal has arguably the most talented midfield trio in the tournament, but it now needs to prove that to disrupt one of the most talented teams in the field.
Cristiano Ronaldo needs to come up with a big moment or two as well, but the primary goal at the start, will be to stop Spain from falling into a passing rhythm in its attacking half.
After that, Portugal can organize its attack and let Ronaldo take his chances.
The blue print is there for Portugal to at least be competitive, but it does need to raise its level a bit because Spain is cruising at the moment.
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