Last two matches of the first round of the WC playoffs to take place

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Today, the last two matches of the first round of the playoffs will be held at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. In one of them, Spain and Morocco will face each other, in the other - Portugal will play against Switzerland.

Morocco - Spain

Morocco went through the preliminary round undefeated and unexpectedly became the winner of their group. Morocco started the World Cup with 0-0 draw against Croatia and then defeated Belgium (2-0) and Canada (2-1). The unbeaten streak of Morocco is 10 matches (+7=3).

Morocco for the second time in history got into the playoffs of the World Cup. This was first achieved in 1986.

Spain began their performance in Qatar with a convincing 7:0 over Costa Rica, but then played 1:1 draw against Germany and lost 1:2 against Japan. Spain was second in the group. The best goalscorer of Spain in the tournament is Alvaro Morata with three goals: the striker scores in every match.

Previously, they played each other three times. In 1961, Spain won 1:0 and 3:2. And at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the teams met at the group stage in Kaliningrad and they shared the points (2: 2). Isco and Aspas were on target for Spain, while Boutaib and En-Nesiri scored for Morocco.

Switzerland - Portugal

Switzerland beat Cameroon (1:0) at the start of the tournament, then lost to Brazil with the same score, and in the decisive match, which turned out to be very emotional and nervous, defeated Serbia (3:2). Six points were enough for Switzerland for the second place in the group.

Portugal also recorded 6 points, but became the best in their quartet. Portugal recoded victories over Ghana (3:2) and Uruguay (2:0) and lost against South Korea (1:2). Bruno Fernandes has two goals and two assists, but his now former Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo has only one goal (from a penalty against Ghana).

The Swiss national team will play in the playoffs for the third World Cup in a row. In 2010, the team did not leave the group, and in 2006 reached the 1/8 finals. At the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the Swiss lost to Sweden in the 1/8 finals (0:1).

With Ronaldo in the Portuguese national team, almost every World Cup goes to the playoffs (with the exception of the 2014 World Cup). In 2006, the team closed the top four, in 2010 - a defeat in the 1/8 finals from Spain (0:1), and in 2018 - a loss to Uruguay (1:2).

Between themselves, the teams played 15 games: 5 wins for Switzerland, 6 for Portugal and 4 draws. In the final tournaments of the World Cup, the opponents did not meet, but at the EURO their paths crossed. In 2008, at the group stage, the Alpines won with a score of 2:0.

In June 2022, the teams played in the League of Nations (division 1) and exchanged home victories (4:0 in Portugal and 1:0 in Switzerland). In the first game, Ronaldo scored a double, and in the second game, the only goal was scored by Seferovic.