Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque played down the threat of Cristiano Ronaldo on Monday, insisting Portugal was not a one-man band. The Iberian arch-rivals face each other for a place in the FIFA World Cup™ quarter-finals on Tuesday with Ronaldo desperate to see his team progress.

Del Bosque admitted the world’s most expensive footballer would pose a problem, but he was keen to make clear the entire Portugal team was dangerous. “I don’t think we should become obsessed with him,” he said of the Real Madrid forward. “We must centre our attention on Portugal as a team. It has shown itself defensively and offensively to be a complete squad. They are in top shape.”

The task of taming Ronaldo will go to Joan Capdevila and the Villarreal defender noted that he would have his hands full. Asked how he would deal with the former Manchester United superstar, Capdevila replied: “That’s complicated. When you play someone like him, you have to be nimble and very fast, very fast indeed. He will probably have a lot of freedom on the pitch and will move around, so we need to be very alert.

“The best way to stop him is to be assisted by my team-mates. But we must also be very careful not just of him but others who come up from the back. We can’t just focus on Cristiano. We must pay attention to his teammates as well.”

The European champions have pulled themselves together after a 1-0 opening game loss to Switzerland, getting back on track with a 2-0 win against Honduras before beating 10-man Chile 2-1. Del Bosque said his team were a humble and down-to-earth bunch, and there was no danger of them being complacent in their quest to win the country’s first FIFA World Cup.

“I don’t think a defeat is ever good, it was damaging to us,” he said of the shock Switzerland result. “But I don’t think we had to learn lessons. This group is very humble and modest. We are not on cloud nine, we are in reality and fully realise each match is difficult. As to motivation, that first stumble has been highly motivating.

“Against Portugal, we will try to take the initiative but so will they. They have a very good generation of players. It seemed their world came to an end when Figo and company retired, but they have got another great generation. They are not just here to participate, they want to win like us.”

The Cape Town clash will be the two teams’ first meeting at a FIFA World Cup, but the pair share a lengthy footballing history featuring no fewer than 32 previous matches. Spain have the edge with 15 wins to just five victories for Portugal.

Striker David Villa said he was confident his team could score despite Portugal’s impressive defensive record, with no team getting a goal against them yet. “Portugal have very impressive players, especially in defence,” he said. “That’s why they haven’t conceded goals. We must play our game, gain possession and keep it. If we have opportunities, I am quite certain we can score goals.”

Portugal plan to attack Spain from the outset in their FIFA World Cup™ round of 16 clash on Tuesday, with coach Carlos Queiroz saying they will think and play quicker than their Iberian rivals.

At stake for both teams is a quarter-final berth against either Paraguay or Japan at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, a tempting fixture as both Spain and Portugal look to win the FIFA World Cup for the first time in their history. The Portuguese crushed Korea DPR 7-0 the last time they played in Cape Town and while that is not going to happen against the Europeans champions, they will be searching for goals.

“We want to win this game from the very first minute,” said Queiroz, indicating that his tactics would be different to those employed against Brazil when they had a more defensive game plan. “We don’t know if the game will be 90 minutes or 120 minutes or penalties. All that counts is that we move forward and score.

“My idea in a game of this nature is that we must take some risks. Our passing must be decisive if we want to win. We must also defend well and attack well. But if my squad wants to stay in the World Cup they must always be on the attack.”

Portugal have kept a clean sheet in 22 of their last 26 internationals and they will be hoping to make it 23 despite the potent threat from Fernando Torres and the in-form David Villa, who has already scored three goals. Queiroz’s side have injury worries with striker Danny and midfielder Duda struggling to be fit, but playmaker Deco should return after sitting out the 0-0 draw with Brazil.

Portugal also have seven players on yellow cards, but Queiroz said it would not stop them taking the game to Spain. “We have seven players on yellow cards but I am not worried. They will have to play openly for 90 minutes and give their all for us to progress,” he said. “Our attitude will not take the cards into account. Our attitiude will be one of pragmatic realism. We must be aware of our rivals’ virtues and we must be one second ahead of them. We must think quicker and play quicker.”

Throughout the tournament Queiroz has stressed that his team should play “beautiful” football, and he expects nothing less on Tuesday, forecasting “a great, great game”.

“It’s going to be extremely difficult for both teams. Our style of football though is somewhat similar and I believe it will be a quick game with a lot of creativity, a lot of great moves,” he said. “At this stage I expect a great, great show of football.”

The Cape Town clash will be the two teams’ first meeting at a FIFA World Cup, but the pair share a lengthy footballing history featuring no fewer than 32 previous matches. Spain have the edge with 15 wins to just five victories for Portugal.

Portugal winger Simao knows his side will be facing one of the best teams in the world when they confront Spain in the last 16 of the FIFA World Cup, but he insists they have no fear.

“They’re one of the best teams in the world,” said Simao, who will face the European champions in Cape Town on Tuesday. “They have a style of play like Barcelona, with lots of players from Barca, who play with two or three touches of the ball.

“But it’s 50-50. Without showing them a lack of respect, we’re not scared at all. We’ve got a great team too. And to become better, we have to beat Spain. They’re champions of Europe, but we have our own qualities.”

Spain have already been beaten at the tournament, losing 1-0 to Switzerland in their Group H opener, and Simao says the key to defeating Vicente del Bosque’s men is to put them under pressure and strike on the counter-attack.

“You have to be aggressive. I don’t mean committing fouls, but pressure the ball carrier and play our own game,” said Simao, who plays for Spanish club side Atletico Madrid, with whom he won the UEFA Europa League last season. “They like keeping the ball, but it’s not always the team that has the ball that wins. For the tactics, I don’t know. It’s the technical staff that decide.”

Simao says Portugal will take heart from Switzerland’s shock victory, but says they will not emulate their tactics to the letter. “They were a well-organised team,” he said. “We’ll defend well, but we’re not going to play like Inter Milan against Barcelona (in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final, when Inter defended on the edge of their penalty area after being reduced to 10 men).”

Spain’s 2-1 defeat of Chile in their final group game gave them top spot in the pool and ensured they avoided Brazil in the second round. Portugal were drawn in the same group as the five-time champions and secured a 0-0 draw when the sides met in their final Group G match. Having already come up against Brazil, Simao believes his side are just as capable of making life uncomfortable for Spain.

“It’s normal that they (Spain) want to avoid Brazil,” he said. “But we’re strong as well and I think we’ll give them at least as many problems. Instead of talking about Spain all the time, we need to focus on ourselves.”

Portugal’s chances of success depend to a certain extent on the form of their star forward and captain Cristiano Ronaldo. The Real Madrid superstar played from the left against Korea DPR but was deployed as a lone striker in the draw with Brazil. He has only scored once so far, in the 7-0 thrashing of North Korea, and Simao believes he must be given freedom on the pitch to express himself.

“My opinion is that Cristiano must be free on the pitch,” he said. “But (Portugal coach) Carlos Queiroz, who knew him well at Manchester United, knows that, everyone knows that.”