Former player Vu Thi Thuy: 'Waiting for an early final between Spain and Portugal'

Former Phong Phu Ha Nam midfielder Vu Thi Thuy believes that if they play to their full potential against difficult foes Austria and Croatia, the two Iberian teams will produce a heated encounter in the following round.

After the shocking stumbles of Germany and the Netherlands, the order in the knockout stage of the 2026 World Cup is gradually being restored as higher-rated teams like Norway, France, and Mexico have shown their mettle to advance.

In the next round, experts and fans are focusing their attention on the two powerhouses Spain and Portugal. From a midfielder's perspective, former national team player Vu Thi Thuy expects both Iberian teams to emerge victorious, setting up an "early final" in the round of 16.

Analyzing the match between Spain and Austria, the former Vietnam women's national team midfielder shared: "The clash between Spain and Austria will certainly be very interesting. I rate Spain's chances of advancing higher thanks to their well-balanced squad of superstars, especially the prodigy Lamine Yamal, who has a very skillful left foot reminiscent of Lionel Messi in his early career."

Except for the unfortunate draw against Cape Verde, Spain had a very convincing group stage performance, crushing Saudi Arabia 4-0 and defeating Uruguay. 'La Roja's' gameplay is achieving high cohesion thanks to short and medium-range combinations.

When transitioning quickly, the two flanks, with the mobility of Yamal and the surrounding satellites, always know how to deliver penetrating passes that tear apart the opponent's defense.

However, Austria under the guidance of coach Ralf Rangnick is not an easy opponent. The trademark all-out gegenpressing style of this strategist will certainly cause many problems for Spain's midfield. Stars like Sabitzer, Laimer, and Arnautovic are fully capable of punishing opponents' mistakes in just a moment."

In the other match, the former midfielder born in 1994 puts faith in the composure of Cristiano Ronaldo and his teammates against Croatia: "This is a very unpredictable encounter because the two sides are fairly balanced. Portugal possesses a young squad with abundant physical strength, especially a very strong midfield with Vitinha, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, and Joao Neves. Up front, they have quality attacking weapons like Pedro Neto, Joao Felix, and the superstar leader Cristiano Ronaldo. However, Portugal will certainly face a tough puzzle. In the group stage, when Ronaldo was neutralized, they were helpless and were held to draws by Congo and Colombia."

Meanwhile, Croatia is a symbol of experience, scientific defense, and boasts the famous central midfield duo Modric - Kovacic. This pair can completely control the tempo, drawing Portugal into their style of play.

I predict the two teams will hold each other with goals in the 90 minutes of regular time, and Portugal will finish the match in extra time thanks to their deeper bench. If they take advantage of good opportunities to open the scoring in the first half, the Portuguese side could even settle the opponent earlier."

If both overcome the difficult challenges tonight, Portugal and Spain will officially face each other in the round of 16, creating the fiery derby most anticipated in the tournament.