INTERNATIONAL

• Halftime report Spain vs. Portugal

  
  

  Lisbon, Portugal (Sports Network) - Portugal dominated the first half but was unable to find a goal in the opening 45 minutes against Spain in a vital Group A border battle at Jose Alvalade Stadium.

  The two Group A favorites coming into the competition both need a positive result in order to advance into the quarterfinals of the competition. Spain and Greece, which is currently losing to Russia by a score of 2-1 at the half, are tied atop the table with four points. Portugal currently sits one point back after a win over Russia on Wednesday.

  Portugal started its final match of group play with a definite purpose, peppering the Spanish defense with some strong work along the right side of the field. The introduction of youngster Cristiano Ronaldo, starting in place of Simao Sabrosa on the wing, was apparent throughout much of the first half, as he created several promising opportunities with his fancy footwork. Ronaldo continually switched sides with Luis Figo, a tactic that seemed to confuse the Spaniards.

  Still, very few quality scoring chances were created by the Portuguese side despite dominating in just about every statistical category. Spain actually failed to put a shot on target in the first half, but striker Fernando Torres did put a header from in close over the bar near the end of the half.

  Ronaldo also had a header that went off target in the waning moments of the first 45 minutes of play.

  Spain's Inaki Saez also elected to go with youth up front in the monumental match. Saez made several chances with the youngsters Torres and Xabi Alonso replacing Fernando Morientes and Ruben Baraja. Joaquin also stepped in for the injured Joseba Etxeberria on the right wing while Juanito was busy working in place of suspended center fullback Carlos Marchena.

  Portugal has not had much success in its long history with Spain. The Spanish international team has lost just six times in 34 all-time matches between the two countries. The domination has been so thorough that Portugal has failed to win a match against Spain in 23 years. The most recent encounter between the two took place nine months ago and resulted in a 3-0 win for Spain in a friendly match.

  06/20 15:37:07 ET