Portugal humiliate world champions Spain
It was a midweek crammed full of winners here on Betfair Football as we picked out six successful wagers on last night's internationals - each at prices above evens - however there's no question as to which call we're proudest of.
We had Italy to draw, Shane Long to score for Republic of Ireland in a losing effort, over 2.5 goals in the England game and Argentina to win (Lionel Messi obliging with an injury-time goal) but the standout result had an outcome, if not a scoreline, that we predicted - Portugal thumping Spain 4-0.
The logic behind our decision was that Portugal had a perfect record since replacing Carlos Queiroz with Paulo Bento, while Spain have struggled in several recent away matches - drawing in Mexico, shipping another four in Argentina and narrowly defeating Scotland.
This was comfortably Vicente del Bosque's side's most worrying result since being crowned world champions in the summer though as they were at pretty much full strength, fielding the exact same back five that started the World Cup Final and conceded no goals in their four knockout ties. In fact, of the whole team that overcame Holland in extra time, only Barcelona's Pedro didn't start.
It was the Euro 2012 favourites' heaviest loss in 47 years yet somewhat surprisingly - perhaps proving to despondent England fans that the view held by most punters is that you shouldn't read too much into friendlies - their odds of [4.9] remain unchanged despite the humbling reverse.
Is Spain's era of dominance ending? Will they suffer a 2002 France-style fall from grace? Or will they return to form when back in competitive action? Tell us below...
Published: 18 Nov 2010
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