Tuesday 29 June 2010

And more Villa!

Spain spent most of the night trying to break through Portugal’s defense. David Villa finally did it. Villa scored off his own rebound in the 63rd minute, giving the European champs a 1-0 victory Tuesday that put them into the World Cup quarterfinals.
In a game where Spain dominated possession and outshot the Portuguese, Villa took Xavi Hernandez’ heel pass and struck a left-footed shot that was saved by Portuguese goalkeeper Eduardo. He then fired the rebound with his right foot off the underside of the crossbar and into the net — his fourth goal of the tournament — sprinted to the near corner and slid on his knees to the flag, letting out a mighty yell.
Spain was about teamwork, and it showed from the start. Fernando Torres and Villa immediately moved down the left, looking to exploit Portugal’s defensive weakness at right back, where Ricardo Costa struggled. Within the first seven minutes, Eduardo had to make three quality saves to keep Portugal in the game on angled shots from Spain’s two strikers.
Yet Spain moved on to an intricate passing game through the center of the field. Once Portugal’s defense settled in it frustrated the Spanish, reducing them to long-range attempts by Gerard Pique. Still, Villa knew a goal was coming.“We never lost our confidence,” Villa said. “We know the potential we have and what we can give.”
The game came two years to the day that Spain ended 44 years of international futility by winning the European title. The last defending European champ to also capture the World Cup was West Germany in 1974.

Taken form NBC Sports

2 comments:

  1. Great goal Rafa, and Spain were a joy to watch as they moved the ball around to penetrate that tight defence. Just wish England could play like that!

    Good luck to Spain in the next round. Now

    Lee.

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  2. Ian
    Villa is now very inspired. I hope we'll win against Paraguay, and after... well, either Germany or Argentina are two great teams, so it will be a not easy task
    Rafa

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