The Portugal–Spain football rivalry (popularly known as The Iberian Derby) is one of the oldest football rivalries at a national level. It began on 19 December 1921, when Portugal lost 3–1 away in Madrid in their first ever international friendly game. Spain won several meetings thereafter as well, with the first draw (2–2) only coming in 1926. Portugal's first win came much later (4–1) in 1947.

Both countries have ranked among the highest rated national teams in the world since the 1980s and both have regularly featured in the top 10 ranked teams on FIFA Men's World Rankings. They have met a total of 42 times (of which 13 were competitive) which resulted in 6 victories for Portugal, 18 draws, and 18 victories for Spain.

The countries will co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup with Morocco.

Comparison in major tournaments Key Denotes which team finished better in that particular competition. DNQ: Did not qualify. DNP: Did not participate. TBD: To be determined.

TournamentNotes1930 FIFA World CupDNP1934 FIFA World CupDNQ5th1938 FIFA World CupDNQ1950 FIFA World CupDNQ4th1954 FIFA World CupDNQ1958 FIFA World CupEuro 19601962 FIFA World CupDNQ12thEuro 19641st1966 FIFA World Cup3rd10thEuro 1968DNQ1970 FIFA World CupEuro 19721974 FIFA World CupEuro 19761978 FIFA World CupDNQ10thEuro 19807th1982 FIFA World Cup12thTournament hosted by Spain.Euro 19847th2ndIn the group stage, the match ended 1-1.1986 FIFA World Cup17th 7thEuro 1988DNQ6th1990 FIFA World Cup 10thEuro 1992DNQ1994 FIFA World Cup8thEuro 19965th6th1998 FIFA World CupDNQ17thEuro 20004th5th2002 FIFA World Cup21st5thEuro 20042nd10thTournament hosted by Portugal. In the group stage, Portugal defeated Spain 1–0.2006 FIFA World Cup4th9thEuro 20087th1st2010 FIFA World Cup11thIn the Round of 16, Spain defeated Portugal 1–0.Euro 20124th2014 FIFA World Cup18th23rdEuro 20161st10th2018 FIFA World Cup13th10thIn the group stage, the match ended 3–3.Euro 202013th3rdTournament hosted by multiple countries; Spain hosted some matches.2022 FIFA World Cup8th13thEuro 2024 8th1st2026 FIFA World Cup13thIn the Round of 16, Spain defeated Portugal 1–0.Euro 2028TBDTBD

Major tournaments 1934 FIFA World Cup qualification

1950 FIFA World Cup qualification Spain and Portugal met in 1950 FIFA World Cup qualification round with Spain going away with a 5–1 victory at home in the first leg.

The second leg saw both sides drawing 2–2, meaning Spain qualified for 1950 FIFA World Cup.

UEFA Euro 1984 In UEFA Euro 1984 group stage Portugal and Spain were paired together, both sides qualified to the next round as Portugal drew Spain 1–1. António Sousa gave Portugal in 52nd minute, after 21 minutes Santillana equalised for Spain at 73rd minute.

UEFA Euro 2004 Portugal and Spain faced off in group stage of the UEFA Euro 2004 hosted by Portugal. In a game where both teams must win to qualify for the knockout stage, Portugal won the game 1–0 as half-time substitute Nuno Gomes scored a goal from 20 yards, giving Portugal their first ever victory against Spain in a major tournament, eliminating Spain on goals scored, and handed the other knockout berth to eventual winners Greece. This was also Portugal's first victory over Spain since 1981.

2010 FIFA World Cup Spain defeated Portugal 1–0 in the Iberian derby to progress to the quarter-finals en route to their first world championship. The game took place on 29 June 2010 at the Cape Town Stadium. Spain dominated the game with a ball possession ratio of 62% and several opportunities, but had to endure a pair of missed chances by the Portuguese in the first half, including one by Hugo Almeida which nearly resulted in a goal. In the second half, the Portuguese attacking threat decreased, and the entry of Fernando Llorente for Fernando Torres on the field brought new energy to the Spanish team. The only goal of the match came on the 63rd minute as David Villa picked up a brilliant pass by Xavi, having his first shot saved, but then lifted the rebound into the roof of the net.

2018 FIFA World Cup Spain faced Portugal in their opening match of Group B. Cristiano Ronaldo gave Portugal an early lead from the spot-kick in 4th minute of the match after deceiving Nacho inside the box. In the 24th minute, Diego Costa equalised for Spain after scoring past the Portuguese defence. Isco then saw his shot thumping against the post. Ronaldo gave Portugal lead once again in 44th minute after Spanish keeper David de Gea was unable to handle the shot. Costa once again equalised for Spanish side in the 55th minute. Nacho redeemed himself after scoring a superb half-volley from outside the box at 58th minute. Gerard Piqué brought down Ronaldo outside the box at 86th minute, Ronaldo scored the free kick to equalise the game at 3–3, earning his first-ever World Cup hat-trick.

2022–23 UEFA Nations League A Both teams were drawn together in Group 2 of the 2022–23 UEFA Nations League A. The first leg was played at Estadio Benito Villamarín on 2 June where the game ended 1–1, with Alvaro Morata of Spain and Ricardo Horta of Portugal scoring the goal in that match. The second leg was played at Estádio Municipal de Braga on 27 September in a game where both teams have to win to secure a spot in the 2023 UEFA Nations League Finals. Had the match ended in a draw, Portugal would have advanced. In the end, Spain won 1–0 on a winning goal scored by Morata late in the game in the 88th minute for their first win at a Portuguese ground in 19 years.

2025 UEFA Nations League final The teams met at the 2025 UEFA Nations League final, the second UEFA Nations League final for Portugal and the third (both overall and in a row) for Spain.

2026 FIFA World Cup

List of matches Legend

No. Date Location Competition Score Winner 1 18 December 1921 Madrid Friendly 3–1 Spain 2 17 December 1922 Lisbon 1–2 Spain 3 16 December 1923 Seville 3–0 Spain 4 17 May 1925 Lisbon 0–2 Spain 5 10 January 1928 2–2 Draw 6 17 March 1929 Seville 5–0 Spain 7 30 November 1930 Porto 0–1 Spain 8 2 April 1933 Vigo 3–0 Spain 9 11 March 1934 Madrid 1934 FIFA World Cup qualification 9–0 Spain 10 18 March 1934 Lisbon 1–2 Spain 11 5 May 1935 Friendly 3–3 Draw 12 12 January 1941 2–2 Spain 13 16 March 1941 Bilbao 5–1 Spain 14 13 March 1945 Lisbon 2–2 Draw 15 6 May 1945 La Coruña 4–2 Spain 16 26 January 1947 Lisbon 4–1 Portugal 17 20 March 1948 Madrid 2–0 Spain 18 20 March 1949 Lisbon 1–1 Draw 19 2 April 1950 Madrid 1950 FIFA World Cup qualification 5–1 Spain 20 9 April 1950 Lisbon 2–2 Draw 21 3 June 1956 Friendly 3–1 Portugal 22 13 April 1958 Madrid 1–0 Draw 23 15 November 1964 Porto 2–1 Portugal 24 26 September 1979 Vigo 1–1 Draw 25 20 June 1981 Porto 2–0 Portugal 26 17 June 1984 Marseille UEFA Euro 1984 1–1 Draw 27 16 January 1991 Castellón Friendly 1–1 Draw 28 15 January 1992 Torres Novas 0–0 Draw 29 19 January 1994 Vigo 2–2 Draw 30 13 February 2002 Barcelona 1–1Draw 31 6 September 2003 Guimarães 0–3 Spain 32 20 June 2004 Lisbon UEFA Euro 2004 0–1 Portugal 33 29 June 2010 Cape Town 2010 FIFA World Cup 1–0 Spain 34 17 November 2010 Lisbon Friendly 4–0 Portugal35 27 June 2012 Donetsk UEFA Euro 2012 0–0 Draw36 15 June 2018 Sochi 2018 FIFA World Cup 3–3 Draw37 7 October 2020 Lisbon Friendly 0–0 Draw38 4 June 2021 Madrid 0–0 Draw39 2 June 2022 Seville2022–23 UEFA Nations League 1–1 Draw40 27 September 2022 Braga 0–1 Spain41 8 June 2025 Munich 2025 UEFA Nations League Finals 2–2 Draw42 6 July 2026 Arlington 2026 FIFA World Cup 0–1 Spain

Unofficial matches An additional three matches have been played between the countries which are not considered official (although are included in some media articles relating to the rivalry and in some statistical tallies of caps for the players involved): In May 1927, Spain played a friendly against Portugal in Madrid on the same day as they played Italy in Rome. The squad for the Italy game was more experienced and considered to be stronger, while several players in the Portugal match made their debuts; consequently the Spain team is considered to have been equivalent to its B team (although they won their match while the A team lost theirs) and thus not a full international. Following the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, no official matches were played by Spain until 1941. The vast majority of the squad in 1936 either originated from the Basque provinces, or played for FC Barcelona in Catalonia, both of which were initially within Republican territory in the conflict. The Basque players formed their own quasi-national team and left Spain to play a long series of exhibition matches on tour around Eastern Europe and Latin America to provide funds and exposure for local causes, and Barcelona did likewise; most of the players in both groups never returned. Back in Spain, as the Nationalist side took control of more of the country, General Franco saw the opportunity to use football as a positive propaganda tool, and arranged for a match to be played in his home region of Galicia against Portugal, whose leader Salazar was supportive of Francoist Spain. Recognition was granted by FIFA at short notice and the match took place in Vigo in November 1937. In contrast to Portugal's settled squad, the Spain pool was hastily assembled from the best available players in Nationalist areas, and Portugal won for their first victory over their neighbours. A return match was arranged for the following January in Lisbon, also won by Portugal, and which attracted attention when three local players refused to give the Roman salute before kick-off; they were initially imprisoned, but were soon released due to the political influence held by the hierarchy of the club they played for, Belenenses.

No. Date Venue Competition Score Winner N/A 29 May 1927 Madrid Unofficial friendly Spain N/A 28 November 1937 Vigo Unofficial friendly Portugal N/A 30 January 1938 Lisbon Unofficial friendly Portugal

Statistics Overall

Competition Matches Wins Draws Goals Portugal Spain Portugal Spain FIFA World Cup 7 0 5 2 7 23 UEFA European Championship 3 1 0 2 2 1 UEFA Nations League 3 0 1 2 3 4 All competitions 13 1 6 6 12 28 Friendly 29 5 12 12 35 52 All matches 42 6 18 18 47 80

Trophies CompetitionTitles Spain Portugal FIFA World Cup 2 0 UEFA European Championship 4 1 UEFA Nations League 1 2 Summer Olympics 2 0 All competitions 9 3

Top goalscorers

RankPlayerFIFA World CupFIFA World Cup qualification UEFA European ChampionshipUEFA European Championship qualifying UEFA Nations LeagueFriendlyAll matches1 Isidro Lángara—7———292 Fernando Peyroteo—————773 Telmo Zarra—3———364 Cristiano Ronaldo30001045 Francisco Palmeiro—————33 José Travassos—1———23 Epifanio Fernández—————33 César Rodríguez—————33 Gaspar Rubio—————33 José Luis Zabala—————33

See also Portugal–Spain relations

References

Reports