World Cup 2018. Day 2 Spain v Portugal

This is the first ‘big’ game of the tournament and should be a technical feast. Ronaldo, Iniesta, David Silva, then add to the stage the pantomime villain, Sergio Ramos. Sacking manager Julen Lopetegui wasn’t the ideal start to Spain’s campaign, but whether it kills or cures them will remain to be seen. European champions Portugal punched above their weight 2 years ago and it will be harder this time around. CR7’s last hurrah on the international stage.

Portugal’s history is long and prestigious. Christopher Columbus; identity disputed, led Spain to the Caribbean islands. Vasco Da Gama; discoverer of the sea route to India. Pedro Álvares Cabral; discoverer of Brazil. Ferdinand Magellan; led the first successful attempt to circumnavigate the Earth. Fernao Mendes Pinto; among the first to reach Japan. Portuguese explorers were amongst the most arduous and brave.

Football heroes include Eusabio da Silva Ferreira, aka The ‘Black Pearl’, one of the first world-class African-born players. He won the Ballon D’or award for European footballer of the year in 1965 and was runner-up in 1962 and 1966, and is Benfica’s all-time top scorer with 638 goals scored in 614 official games. Christiano Ronaldo is the only real contender to Eusabio’s crown and arguably surpassed his achievements when he led Portugal to be the Euro 2016 champions.

Today’s shirt is C.F. Os Belenenses, the ‘third’ team in Lisbon. Founded in 1919 they are one of the oldest sports clubs in Portugal and play at the 25,000 seater Estádio do Restelo in the Belem district of Lisbon. The club name translates as “The ones from Belém”. Belenenses was the first Portuguese team with a turf pitch and artificial lighting, and the club won its only Primeira Lisa title in 1945/46 edging out Benfica by one point. The main sports of the club are Football, Handball, Basketball , Futsal, Athletics, and Rugby Union. The club has won national championships in all these sports, but it remains best known for its original activity, which is football. They finished 12th in the top league last season.

Today’s beer of choice is Super Bock, a pale lager with a strength of 5.2%.

Other games today: Egypt v Uruguay, Morocco v Iran.