Portugal vs. Spain: La Furia Roja Defense Will Decide Semifinal Clash

Regardless of the outcome, here's how the European Championship semifinal between Spain and Portugal will play out:

Spain will win the possession battle, but they won't dominate it due to Portugal's hard-working midfielders and solid back line. The crisp and clever passing of Spain will eventually lead to one beautifully orchestrated goal. Portugal will have plenty of chances on the counter-attack, spearheaded by Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani, and this one will be tight throughout and may even go to penalties.

Notice that I didn't mention make a prediction or even guarantee a goal for Portugal. And that's because the deciding factor in this game will be the Spanish back line and goalie Iker Casillas.

Portugal is going to get its chances, and they will get them in space. Ronaldo is going to find himself with the ball and a full head of steam with the goal in his vision. He's simply too good not to play a huge factor in this match.

So how will Spain's back line respond?

It's actually hard to say, because even if they play splendidly Ronaldo is still capable of scoring a goal in spectacular fashion. But Álvaro Arbeloa, Sergio Ramos, Gerard Piqué and Jordi Alba comprise one of the finest defensive back lines in the world, and chances will not come easily for the Portuguese side.

Arbeloa and Ramos will have their hands full with Ronaldo—Arbeloa out wide, and Ramos when Ronaldo cuts in from the wing, hoping to find space to unleash a shot. And the battle between Alba and Nani should be incredibly fun to watch as well.

This is ultimately where the game will be decided. We know Spain will utilize its tika-taka style in the midfield, compiling a huge number of passes by the end of the game. We know Portugal won't simply sink back and try to blockade the goal, instead working hard to retain possession.

We know Ronaldo will dominate the ball once it hits his feet. We know Spain won't settle for low-percentage shots or wayward crosses, instead waiting for the perfect moment to finesse its way through the Portuguese defense and score with a beautiful set up.

And we know that ultimately, this game will hinge on who wins the battle between Ronaldo, Nani and Hugo Almeida versus the Spanish back line and Casillas.

I expect this will be brilliant football, although brilliant football with a slew of opportunities foiled by each team's defense. In the end, I'm not willing to bet against Ronaldo and his run of fantastic form this season.

And thus, as good as they'll play throughout, the Spanish will lament that its back line couldn't be just a little bit more stout in an upset win for Portugal.

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets hit the mark more often than Spain's passing.