Tactical talking points: Spain 5-0 Portugal

Words on Diogo Jota and another ruthless Spanish display...

Portugal fell to a 5-0 defeat at the hands of the world champions on a sombre evening in Bern. The news of Diogo Jota and André Silva’s passing earlier this morning has sent shockwaves through the wider football community, and undoubtedly, Francisco Neto and Montse Tomé’s players will be mourning their loss.

It feels cruel that the games are going ahead. When a child, parent, sibling or spouse passes away, the world comes to a halt for that individual’s inner circle. Yet here we are, discussing the tactical performances of these two Iberian rivals.

This one’s for you, Diogo…

The Spanish are Spanish-ing

Spain's men's and women's teams operate under a similar philosophy of slow, controlled possession-based football, while also incorporating more direct and aggressive attacking sequences.

Key ball progressors - Olga Carmona, Alexia Putellas and Mariona Caldentey - are responsible for dominating central areas of the pitch. Last season, Carmona excelled in this role, ranking in the 99th percentile for through-balls in Liga F. Meanwhile, 2025 Champions League winner Caldentey has been just as silky on the ball, averaging 7.23 passes into the final third per 90 for Arsenal in the WSL.

This effective ball progression lays the groundwork for more mesmerising moments, often generated by promising teenage stars. For Hansi Flick's team, that player is Lamine Yamal, while for Tomé's side, it's Vicky López. Last season, the Barcelona midfielder ranked in the 92nd percentile for expected assists and averaged 0.66 goals per 90 minutes.

Proof that sometimes it's all about positional rotation and occupying space, and other times, you punt it down the channel for some Messi re-gen to dismantle an entire defence.

Spain’s ruthless counter-press

The hallmark of an outstanding out-of-possession press is not being entirely sure of a team's shape without the ball. With over 70 per cent of possession at several stages of the game, Spain made their efforts off the ball even more apparent.

Their superiority wasn't solely due to having exceptional passers; it was also a result of their effective movements on the flanks. The 4-3-3 is a common formation, but nobody does it quite like the Spanish. This particular edition featured both fullbacks sitting relatively deep and narrow, which allowed them to support the midfielders in quickly regaining possession when turnovers occurred.

Portugal were forced to abandon their back three and switch to a back five in a 3-5-2 formation. Though this did slightly alter the possession metrics, it was only because Spain were allowing them to pass it around the defence. The wide and central areas? Well:

Esther Gonzales is a beast

While there might be an 18-year-old phenom on the pitch, Esther González deserves her flowers. At 32 years old, the Gotham FC forward shows no signs of slowing down. Last season in the NWSL, she averaged a whopping 0.79 goals per 90. Are we surprised that she hustled and bustled her way to a goal in the opening 90 seconds? She did it better than Manchester City's Erling Haaland (0.63) and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah (0.53).

Her brace was slightly more fortuitous, but there is something about being in the right place at the right time.

Portugal’s weak spine

We've already discussed how Spain forced Portugal into a formation change. But a more pressing concern is the lack of confident ball progressors in Neto's back line. Given that Spain's pressing game would've pushed Portugal into quick transitions, you would've expected some of the attackers to drop deeper to help move the ball forward to Diana and Jessica Silva. But we saw none of that. Although it is partly a result of the Spanish Inquisition, there are internal issues that need to be addressed.

Conceding 24 goals in their last five games is a troubling statistic. It's worth mentioning that Portugal are without veteran forward Carolina Mendes and Barca star Kika Nazareth, who was included in the squad despite still recovering from an ankle injury that has kept her out of action since March.