Deco is available again for Portugal after a hip injury, so coach Carlos Queiroz must decide whether to restore him to the starting line-up. Hugo Almeida or Liedson will come back into the team as Danny is expected to miss the game with a badly bruised leg.

One booking from suspension: Almeida, Coentrao, Duda, Mendes, Pepe, Ronaldo, Tiago (Portugal)

MATCH PREVIEW
Two years ago to the day of this match, Spain finally broke their major tournament duck and lifted the European Championship trophy. If they are to go one step further and break their World Cup hoodoo they are going to have to significantly up their performances, starting against their Iberian neighbours Portugal.

Fernando Torres scored the goal in the final in Vienna back in 2008, but his performances in South Africa have been synonymous with that of the rest of the Spanish team. He and many of his much-vaunted colleagues have started the tournament sluggishly and look like they are still recovering from the shock of losing to Switzerland in their opening match.

Portugal have played out two grim goalless draws sandwiched either side of a mauling of North Korea. Coach Carlos Queiroz has opted for a different striking formation in all three of their games so far, but while he ponders how to get goals at one end, he is losing no sleep about a defensive unit that has conceded just once in their last 12 matches.

The Portuguese have only beaten Spain five times in 32 encounters, but perversely have lost this fixture just once since 1958. Like many local derbies, a draw has proved to be a very common result, so penalties could be the only way of separating these neighbours at the Cape Town stadium.

MATCH OFFICIALS
Head-to-head
- They have met 32 times in international football. Portugal have won just five matches, Spain 15 and there have been 12 draws.

- But Portugal won their last meeting 1-0, which came at the Euro 2004 group stages and eliminated Sapin from the competition.

- And Spain have only beaten Portugal once in the ten matches since 1958.

Spain
- They must make history if they are to win the World Cup, as no country has lost its first group match and gone on to lift the trophy.

- David Villa has scored six goals in six starts at the World Cup and is now the all-time top scorer for Spain at the tournament.

- Spain became the first team since Hungary in 1986 not to collect a single card in the group stages of a World Cup tournament. In fact, they have not had a player cautioned in their last six matches since Sergio Ramos was booked against France on 3 March.

Portugal
- Portugal have conceded just one goal in their last 12 internationals.

- Should they get through against Spain, they will set a new unbeaten record for Portugal of 20 games in all competitions.

- They have failed to score in their last two World Cup knockout matches – 0-0 (aet) against England in the quarter-final and a 1-0 defeat to France in the semi-final in 2006.

Hopes had been high for a display of attacking verve, but both teams tackled cynically and were booed off in Durban.

“I’m not happy,” Dunga said. “We always play to win. We even tried to attack in the last five minutes. Portugal didn’t attack. They just wanted to defend.”

Goalkeeper Julio Cesar added: “Now the hard part begins.”

“It was a difficult group so it was good to finish first. We can’t lose anymore.”

Victories over North Korea and Ivory Coast in their first two Group G matches meant Brazil had already qualified for the knockout stages, though the draw confirmed them as group winners while Portugal secured the point they needed for progression.

But Dunga, who has been heavily criticised by much of the nation’s media for not paying heed to Brazil’s traditionally vibrant attacking style of play, insisted his team possessed the greater ambition.

“The Portuguese team defended from midfield backwards,” he stated.

“It made it difficult to penetrate their defence. We nevertheless had three or four goal-scoring opportunities.”

Portuguese keeper Eduardo was the chief reason for denying Brazil when they did break forward, brilliantly tipping Nilmar’s close-range effort onto the post in the first half before clawing the ball away from his top corner from Ramires’ deflected strike late on.

Real Madrid forward Kaka was suspended and midfielder Elano missing through injury, but Dunga said their absence did not hinder his side.
 
Nilmar hits the post for Brazil
“Kaka and Elano are exceptional players,” the Brazil boss reflected. “But the way in which Portugal played, it would have made it difficult for Kaka and Elano to help us more.”

When asked about the many fouls which littered a match in which seven yellow cards were produced, Brazil captain Lucio replied: “We know both teams had a lot of will to win and went in with a lot of determination and so it happens, one or more severe tackles.

“I think our team tried to play a little more. We knew it would be like that as both teams were qualified.”

Didier Drogba, Salamon Kalou, Aruna Dindane and Seydou Doumbia will be the strikers in the Elephants’ line-up for South Africa.

Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson has also dropped midfielders Emerse Fae, Gilles Yapi Yapo and Traore Lacina.

But there is a place for Koffi N’Dri Romaric, who was recalled after missing the Africa Cup of Nations in January.

He was left out of that squad by former coach Vahid Halilhodzic because of disciplinary issues.

West Bromwich Albion defender Abdoulaye Meite failed to make the cut for South Africa, as did goalkeeper Vincent Angban.

His absence means there is only one locally-based player in the squad, his fellow keeper, Daniel Yeboah, of ASEC Mimosas.

Ivory Coast are in drawn in Group G with Brazil, Portugal and North Korea.

Elsewhere, Wigan’s Steve Gohouri has sealed his place on the plane after missing out on Angola, while Hibernian’s Sol Bamba, who scored in Les Elephants’ 2-2 draw with Paraguay in France this week, is among the defenders travelling.

Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson said: “It’s always sad when you have to tell seven players they have to go home, it’s not the best part of a manager’s job, but it has to be done.

“I talked to the seven players here in this room – from what I have seen of the players, they are all extremely well-educated, happy people and they took it as men with style.

“I thank them for what they have done for us and I wish them luck in the future.”

Others who did make the squad list are the English Premier League’s Golden Boot winner, Drogba, his Chelsea team-mate, Kalou as well as Aruna Dindane, who has helped Portsmouth to reach the FA Cup final but has now signed for Lekhwiya in Qatar.

Eriksson, who replaced Halilhodzic at the end of March, has said there are “big expectations” for Ivory Coast at Africa’s first World Cup and he believes the team can fulfil them.

Ivory Coast squad

Goalkeepers: Boubacar Barry (Lokeren, Belgium), Aristides Zogbo (Maccabi Netanya, Israel), Daniel Yeboah (Asec, Ivory Coast).

Defenders: Souleymane Bamba (Hibernian, Scotland), Arthur Boka (VB Stuttgart, Germany), Benjamin Brou Angoua (Valenciennes, France), Guy Demel (Hamburg SV, Germany), Emmanuel Eboue (Arsenal, England), Steve Gohouri (Wigan Athletic, England), Siaka Tiene (Valenciennes, France), Kolo Toure (Manchester City, England).

Midfielders: Jean-Jacques Gosso Gosso(Monaco, France), Abdelkader Keita (Galatasaray, Turkey), Emmanuel Kone (International Curtea Arges, Romania), Gervinho (Lille, France), Koffi N’Dri Romaric (Sevilla, Spain), Cheik Ismael Tiote (Twente Enschede, Holland), Yaya Toure (Barcelona, Spain), Didier Zokora (Sevilla, Spain).

Forwards: Aruna Dindane (Lekhwiya, Qatar), Didier Drogba (Chelsea, England), Salomon Kalou (Chelsea, England), Bakary Kone (Olympique Marseille, France).