David Villa. Photos by Skye Grove

As Portugal prepares to take on reigning European champions Spain at Cape Town Stadium tomorrow, coach Carlos Queiroz says that the team should learn from their 0-0 draw against Brazil in the group stages.

Queiroz says that his team loves Cape Town and feels like coming home here. They are hoping the outcome of tomorrow’s match will be similar to their crushing 7-0 victory over the People’s Republic of Korea last week. 

“I believe it will be a quick game of football, with imagination, creativity, speed and great moves,” he says. “This is our second game in Cape Town and I hope that it is going to help us. My main concern is that I would like my players to be conscious of the fact that there should not be a sense of mission accomplished (by reaching the Round of 16). While we have matches to play, there is a lot of work still to be done. But we are ready for that work.”

Meanwhile Spain’s coach Vicente del Bosque says that his team needs to improve after failing to impress in its first three matches, which included a 1-0 loss to the Swiss. Del Bosque has blamed his team’s uneven World Cup campaign on its “shock” first game loss, and insists the squad is in good physical shape ahead the clash with Portugal.

Spain forward David Villa has launched a staunch defence of the under-performing Fernando Torres, insisting he is “totally convinced” his strike partner will regain form and score for the team. Villa has been on fire in South Africa, scoring three goals and causing all sorts of problems for the teams who’ve come up against him.

Whatever the outcome at the Cape Town Stadium tomorrow – we are bound to see an exciting game between two countries that share a richness of cultural and sporting similarities.

Portugal coach, Carlos Queiroz

The match ball