This rather tight Iberian duel did not find a winner: in the 25th minute, after a counter flash led by the young Barcelonan Gavi, Carlos Soler served Alvaro Morata at the limit of offside in the area for the 26th goal of the Juventus striker in the jersey of La Roja... but Braga striker Ricardo Horta replied in the 82nd, lonely in the area, when Joao Cancelo picked up a cross.

The Portuguese superstar striker Cristiano Ronaldo, preserved in the first period and entered in the 62nd in place of Otavio, spent half an hour protesting and was very discreet in the game of the Seleçao.

Without his flashes, the Portuguese however managed to snag a precious draw at the Benito-Villamarin stadium, filled only three quarters Thursday evening (41,236 spectators out of 60,000).

Spain, finalist of the last edition against France in October (2-1), got off to a better start, with a first big strike from Gavi in ​​the 3rd minute, diverted by veteran Pepe.

The young attacking midfielder of FC Barcelona, ​​only 17 years old, was very active in the midfield: he is notably at the base of the transition which led to the first goal of the meeting, signed Alvaro Morata.

Alba's missed opportunity

But Portugal, numb at the start, woke up during the game: in the 18th minute, Rafael Leao, a tall and young AC Milan striker (22 years old, 1.88m) courted by Real Madrid , tries his luck in the box after a fine breakthrough from Raphael Guerreiro, but his shot misses the target.

The Spaniard Jordi Alba against Portugal in the League of Nations, June 2, 2022 in Seville JORGE GUERRERO AFP

Portugal largely dominated the second period, but did not find the fault until the very end of the match, on an action similar to that of the goal of Spain.

And after the Portuguese equalizer, Jordi Alba had the ball 2-1 at the end of the head, but his recovery, facing the empty cage, did not catch the frame.

For both teams, this match set the tone for the rest of the Nations League and launched the two teams on the road to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar (November 21 - December 19).

At the end of this first day, it is therefore the Czech Republic, winner of Switzerland 2-1 Thursday evening, which takes the reins of the very tough group B.

On Sunday, Spain (8:45 p.m.) goes to Prague to face the Czechs as part of the second day, while Portugal receives Switzerland in parallel at the José-Alvalade stadium in Lisbon.

© 2022 AFP