Spain vs. Russia
Finally a chance to see if the Spanish stars can align as a team against what is a very well organized Russian team.
posted by gooner71 @ 8:48 AM
Lakenheath Old Boys
We are all former students at Lakenheath High School and other public schools in East Anglia. We were in school in the 70s and 80s and drank deeply from the well of British culture of those decades - the pints, the telly, and of course the footie!
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Finally a chance to see if the Spanish stars can align as a team against what is a very well organized Russian team.
Lakenheath Old Boys
We are all former students at Lakenheath High School and other public schools in East Anglia. We were in school in the 70s and 80s and drank deeply from the well of British culture of those decades - the pints, the telly, and of course the footie!
Contributors
Previous Posts
- Holland vs. Italy
- Romania vs. France
- U.S.A vs. Argentina
- Germany vs. Poland
- Austria vs. Croatia
- Portugal vs. Turkey
- Switzerland vs. Czech Republic
- Euro 2008 Group D
- Euro 2008 Group C
- Euro 2008 Group B
35 Comments:
Another stellar job on the posts, Gooner. I'm really looking forward to seeing Manuel's lot this morning, as their my pick to win Euro 2008.
Here are the sides for today's match:
Spain:
1. Iker Casillas
15. Garcia Sergio Ramos
4. Carlos Marchena
5. Carles Puyol
11. Joan Capdevila
21. David Silva
19. Marcos Senna
8. Hernandez Xavi
6. Andres Iniesta
7. David Villa
9. Fernando Torres
Russia:
1. Igor Akinfeev
22. Aleksandr Aniukov
14. Roman Shirokov
8. Denis Kolodin
18. Yuri Zhirkov
21. Dmitri Sychev
17. Konstatin Zyryanov
11. Sergei Semak
20. Igor Semshov
15. Diniyar Bilyaletdinov
19. Roman Pavluchenko
That is one frighteningly tasty looking Spanish side, especially up front where there are plenty of goal threats. I'm hoping to see the net bulge a few times. They were tentative against the US last week; let's hope they let the hounds loose today.
And we're under way on a soggy night in Austria.
Derek and Tommy are pointing out that Valencia were off the boil this season, which meant that David Villa's game suffered. A lot of clubs have been looking at him but he's committed to stay in Spain for the time being.
Very even start to the match. The Russian defense is keeping a close eye on Torres and Villa and they can definitely play a bit in midfield.
A quarter of an hour gone and no real chances for either side to speak of.
Semshov has the first half chance. He was policed by Puyol but he might have been sharper to the ball there.
Russia are definitely on the up here and their fans are bellowing them on.
GOAL! Torres and Villa combine for Spain's opener, somewhat against the run of play. Long ball out to Torres, who schools the right back, slips it to Torres who has the easiest of jobs to slot home.
Spain 1-0!
It's end to end stuff now, with Zyryanov and then Torres coming close. We haven't had a game with both sides scoring yet in the tournament but this one looks very likely.
Pavluchenko, the bane of English football, has been very lively today. He was nearly in there but ruled offside.
Another classic Tommy Smyth moment there. Derek Rae was commenting on Spain "soft center" in defense, which set Tommy off on a long reverie about Cadbury's chocolates. After a long pause, Derek cleared his throat and continued on with the football.
Russia setting up for a dangerous free kick here. Some strange camera work there. As the kick was taken, they reverted to a bird's eye view just above the goal. The ball struck the bar and fortunately it was ruled offside, otherwise there would be some red faces in the broadcast booth.
GOAL! Just on the stroke of half time, the Spanish break the Russian offside trap and David Villa slips home his second.
Spain 2-0! They are romping it!
Iniesta was the architect there. He's had a splendid match.
Half time: Spain 2-0. It's all going to plan for Luis Aragones's team. They've had one or two scary moments, mainly due to the busy Pavluchenko, but their class is showing through. They should easily run out the victory for here.
Second half starting now....
I don't see any changes yet. Guus Hiddink doesn't have a lot of options here. He'll be looking ahead to the remaining matches with Sweden and Greece.
Interesting move from Aragones. Torres has been replaced by Cesc Fabregas. More cover in the midfield then.
Villa was nearly in for his hattrick there. Well saved.
Inches away there from Zyryanov. He's looked good today. You know, Russia are not out of this tournament yet. If the other two sides falter, they could easily squeak into second spot. They're not half bad.
Neat one-two there leaves David Silva in on goal but the Russian keeper was saved by a last ditch tackle. Spain could easily be three or four up.
Iniesta is being withdrawn in favor of Santi Cazorla.
Fabregas was nearly played in there but the Russian keeper came sharply off his line to clear.
GOAL! David Villa gets his hattrick after all. Great movement from the Spanish midfield there, but Villa still had a lot of work to do on a skiddy surface, shouldering off the Russian defender and then sticking it to the left of the keeper. It was noticeable that Villa immediately ran to the bench to hug Fernando Torres.
Spain 3-0!
Indicating the depth that Aragones possesses in his squad, Xavi Alonso is now replacing David Silva at the 77th minute mark.
Spain are really just spraying it about beautifully here. The Dutch victory yesterday was the most impressive yet because they did it against the current World Cup holders, but I haven't seen another side as fluid as the Spanish.
Tommy Smyth is really licking his wounds today. It's clear that he's been reading the online criticism and listening to radio shows such as World Soccer Daily because he's made several self-deprecating remarks about his imminent retirement.
Still ten minutes left for Spain to stick in a fourth as Russia push forward for a consolation goal.
GOAL! Russia have their consolation goal and it's that man Pavluchenko. And we finally have a match where both sides have scored.
Russia are finishing strongest here and if they get a second, it could be a nervy last minute or two for Spain.
Semak had a huge opportunity there. The Spanish defense has really become sloppy for the past five minutes.
GOAL! As Russia push forward, Spain breaks quickly and Cesc Fabregas finishes off a neat move with a rare headed goal.
Spain 4-1.
We're getting some storm activity which is knocking out the satellite periodically.
Into stoppage time now and Spain have one more chance from a free kick.
Full time: 4-1. A comprehensive win for the Spanish who must fancy themselves now. It'll also take some pressure off the odious Luis Aragones, who's been getting some stick in the Spanish press recently.
They started like this in the last World Cup and then faltered. Will they rise to the occasion and fulfill their massive potential this time? We'll see.
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