5 special group-stage matches at Russia 2018 well worth the wait

 

#1. Portugal–Spain (Group B, 15th June)

Portugal and Spain have been rivals since the time the Pope divided the unexplored world into two halves, and granted one part each to these Iberian countries. This tradition of rivalry has maintained itself in football too and goes back a long way, to 18 December, 1921, when Portugal lost its first ever international football match to Spain at Madrid, 3 goals to 1.

 In more recent times, Spain defeated Portugal in their UEFA Euro 2012 Semi-finals encounter on penalties after the full-time score was a nil-nil draw. They then went on to win the tournament. Two years before that, at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, a sole David Villa strike helped Spain see off Portugal and proceed to the quarter-finals. Now ranked 3rd by FIFA, the reigning European champions, led by their five-time Ballon d'Or winning captain Cristiano Ronaldo, will be looking to bury the ghosts of their past meetings with La Roja, and sparks are sure to fly.