2009 Confederations Cup: Spain Crushes New Zealand 5-0
June 17th 2009 04:32
Twenty minutes – three goals. That's all you need to know about the second game of the Confederations which pitted Euro champions Spain against ONC champions New Zealand. All three goals were scored by Liverpool striker Fernando Torres. By the half-hour mark, Spain were up 4-0 (via Fabregas), and added a last one early in the second half when the Kiwis' center-back fumbled a basic play, leaving goalkeeper Glen Moss at David Villa's mercy.
The score could've been much worse as Spain continued to get numerous chances in the second half but with New Zealand already down, missed opportunities didn't bother La Roja that much (when Xavi gets replaced before the hour-mark, you know things are going very well). It all came down to the Kiwis not being able to read the Spaniards' off-the-ball runs. Torres' second goal was a perfect example of that as Villa simply ran behind the defender to receive the ball in space and cross it back to Torres in the box who simply had to redirect the ball to the net. New Zealand were overrun and no one on their backline knew how to deal with such an onslaught.
As for Spain, they were solid as usual. Fabregas' injury might change things up a bit but with David Silva and Santi Cazorla on the bench, Del Bosque has nothing to worry about.
Spain's line-up: Iker Casillas; Sergio Ramos (Alvaro Arbeloa, 54th), Carles Puyol, Raul Albiol, Joan Capdevila; Zabi Alonso, Xavi Hernandez (Santi Cazorla, 54th), Cesc Fabregas, Albert Riera; David Villa, Fernando Torres (David Silva, 70th).
The score could've been much worse as Spain continued to get numerous chances in the second half but with New Zealand already down, missed opportunities didn't bother La Roja that much (when Xavi gets replaced before the hour-mark, you know things are going very well). It all came down to the Kiwis not being able to read the Spaniards' off-the-ball runs. Torres' second goal was a perfect example of that as Villa simply ran behind the defender to receive the ball in space and cross it back to Torres in the box who simply had to redirect the ball to the net. New Zealand were overrun and no one on their backline knew how to deal with such an onslaught.
As for Spain, they were solid as usual. Fabregas' injury might change things up a bit but with David Silva and Santi Cazorla on the bench, Del Bosque has nothing to worry about.
Spain's line-up: Iker Casillas; Sergio Ramos (Alvaro Arbeloa, 54th), Carles Puyol, Raul Albiol, Joan Capdevila; Zabi Alonso, Xavi Hernandez (Santi Cazorla, 54th), Cesc Fabregas, Albert Riera; David Villa, Fernando Torres (David Silva, 70th).
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