Spain took another step towards adding the 2010 World Cup crown to their Euro 2008 title as they beat Portugal 1-0 in a closely fought encounter in their last 16 tie. David Villa scored the sole goal of the game to send Cristiano Ronaldo’s team crashing out of another major tournament without achieving anything.
Villa’s goal also gave Barcelona fans a glimpse of what is to come next season as the Catalan club’s new recruit combined beautifully with club mates Xavi and Iniesta to score with a cool finish off a amazingly crafted buildup.
Portugal were often stifled by coach Carlos Queiroz’s predictably defensive tactics as Spain dominated their opponents for long periods despite giving away some clear chances to their quick breaking neighbours. However, good goalkeeping as well as last ditch defending from Gerard Pique and Carlos Puyol ensured that the Spanish kept only their second clean sheet of the tournament in South Africa.
Former World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo was again conspicuous for his absence and rarely threatened. On the few occasions when he had the ball, he was quickly snuffed out by Spanish players as the Real Madrid star cut an increasingly frustrated figure on the pitch.
Spain had its own misfiring striker in Fernando Torres with the Liverpool star again taken off early in the second half as coach Vincente Del Bosque quickly loses confidence in the player who scored the winning goal in the final of Euro 2008. A season of injuries and long layoffs have contributed to a lack of sharpness in front of goal and the anxiety of having yet to open his account in South Africa is clearly getting to Torres.
Yet, Spain have Villa in their ranks and the clinical forward once again came to the fore as he led his side to the victory. The goal came on 63 minutes as Andres Iniesta combined with Xavi to see the latter send Villa through on goal with a beautiful backheel. Villa had his first attempt saved before getting first to the rebound and sending Spain through to a quarterfinal clash with Paraguay this weekend.
Tags: Match Highlights, Match Review, Portugal, Spain, World Cup, World Cup 2010
