Spain vs Portugal and Argentina vs Italy: the men's World Cup semifinals in Doha

Men's World Cup semifinals today: Spain vs Portugal and Argentina vs Italy from 16:00 in Spain, the road to Doha's last four and where to watch.

Spain and Argentina are both two matches from a men's world title, and neither has dropped a tie on the way to Doha's last four. The men's semifinals of the FIP World Cup are on Friday 6 November at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex: Spain play Portugal, and Argentina play Italy.

Both matches start no earlier than 16:00 in Spain (12:00 in Argentina), after the women's semifinals that open the day at 12:00. The winners meet in the world final on Saturday.

The road to the semifinals

Spain: two pairs, two clean wins

Spain beat Brazil 2-0 in the quarterfinal. Coki Nieto and Jon Sanz won 6-2 and 6-2, and Javi Leal and Arturo Coello followed with 6-2 and 6-1. The tie was decided after two matches, so Juan Lebron and Aimar Goni did not have to play.

That gives Spain a pairing worth watching: Leal, who joined the squad after the injury to Ale Galan, next to Coello, the player the national team leans on most.

Argentina: a 3-0 against Germany

Argentina swept Germany 3-0. Fede Chingotto and Gonza Alfonso won 6-1 and 6-1, Leo Augsburger and Martin Di Nenno won 6-0 and 6-4, and Franco Stupaczuk and Maxi Arce won 6-3 and 6-0. Argentina arrive as the defending men's champions, and the 3-0 shows the depth behind the headline pair.

Spain vs Portugal: the one Spain cannot treat as a formality

Portugal reached the semifinal by beating the Netherlands 2-0, after topping its group with a 2-1 win over Chile. Two straight 2-0 ties without needing a third match is the form Spain will meet.

Spain are the favorites on paper, but a World Cup semifinal is decided by the pairs on court, and the lineup is only known when the order of play is published.

Argentina vs Italy: the quiet contender

Italy beat Sweden 2-0 in the quarterfinal, after winning its group. It meets Argentina in both the men's and the women's semifinals, so the whole Italian delegation is playing for an upset on the same day.

For Argentina the challenge is the opposite of the quarterfinal. Against Germany the matches were decided by the top of the order; against a team that has won every round so far, the order of play may reach the third pair.

The women's side of the day sets the tone. Spain meet France and Argentina meet Italy at 12:00 in Spain, so by the time the men walk on, one finalist in the women's draw is already known.

Time and where to watch

Argentina vs Italy is on the Centre Court and Spain vs Portugal on Grand Stand 1, both no earlier than 16:00 in Spain. In Spain and Andorra the rights belong to Movistar Plus+; elsewhere the FIP World Cup is shown on the FIP YouTube channel and Red Bull TV in authorised territories, on Sport TV in Portugal and on SuperTennis padel in Italy.

The winners play Saturday for the world title, and both sides of the bracket have a reason to believe it is theirs. By Friday evening, the final is set.