Immediately after it qualified by winning its group, the team favoured to win this World Cup said it was happy it finished first so it could avoid playing Brazil.
That didn't sit very well with the team Spain will play . . . Portugal.
Portugal was made to feel like a second-class citizen and while most people would like to avoid Brazil, Portugal believes it can cause Spain the same problems as the Brazilians.
It will get that chance Tuesday when the two play the last knockout game before the quarter-finals in Cape Town.
Both Brazil and Portugal are skilled teams with skilled players. Both move the ball with speed and precision and can control play for long periods of time.
Even though the first-round game between Portugal and Brazil didn't mean much and ended 0-0, Portugal did enough to show that it is far more in form than when it struggled to qualify for this tournament.