Portugal vs. Spain: Stellar Defense Will Carry La Roja into Euro 2012 Finals

One more win is all it will take in order for Spain to begin its final defense of the Euro crown.

Two more wins and it will get its hand on its third consecutive win in a major international tournament.

All that stands in the way of Spain and a trip to the Euro 2012 finals is a Portugal squad that's been playing better and better with every game.

Spain earned its 2-0 win over France in the quarterfinals the same way it has earned all of its victories up to this point: with stellar defense. Since an opening game draw with Italy, no team has managed to score a goal on Spain; in its last three Euro contests, this team has posted three straight shutouts, winning by a combined score of 7-0.

La Roja may have earned the boring tag, but that tag has to be one they're pretty happy with at this point. After the quarterfinals win over France, Spain was criticized for not giving the crowd enough of a spectacle, but there's something to be said for a defensive battle.

And would you really consider changing your approach after a three straight shutouts and a four-game unbeaten streak, all in the midst of the most challenging tournament in the sport?

Of the criticism, midfielder Xabi Alonso told the Guardian:

"

Whatever people say I don't think we are going to change. I am pretty sure that most of the fans are enjoying great football games and great football teams. I think that's great not just for the present but also for the future of this tournament.

"

Alonso has a point; regardless of how Spain is doing it, it's doing something right. No team (besides Germany, of course) has been this dominant, and complaints about Spain's approach are simply empty. Everyone loves watching a dominant team unless you're a fan of the team that's getting beaten. 

Plus, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal waiting on Wednesday, this is no time to be considering a change in approach.

Portugal hasn't been as flat-out dominant as Spain at Euro, but it did have to emerge from the dreaded Group of Death in order to survive past the group round, and there's nothing to prepare you for the challenges of Euro like a kickoff match versus Germany.

That 1-0 defeat marked Portugal's only loss at Euro thus far. Unfortunately for Portugal, if there's any other team at Euro that resembles Germany's dominance, it is Spain. Ronaldo may have scored three goals since that loss, but against the Germans, he was rendered helpless, and he could suffer the same fate against Spain's stifling defense.

Portugal has managed to beat the bottom-dwellers in Group B, and it's managed to escape the quarterfinals with a slim 1-0 victory over the Czech Republic, but it hasn't faced a threat like Spain since it faced Germany in its first match. We all know how that ended.

If Spain wants to sit back and wait for Ronaldo to attack, let it do so. The defense-first approach has worked before, and now is no time to disrupt what has been a foolproof game plan. 

With one more win, one team can do its part to give the world the Spain-Germany final matchup it expected all along. It's just about getting past Portugal the same way it's gotten past everyone else.