2009 Confederations Cup - Spain

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2009 Confederations Cup Spain - Football Slate

2009 Confederations Cup: United States Shock Spain With 2-0 Win

June 27th 2009 03:18

Dismissed as a weak, disorganized team, the United States seem to have finally found their identity in Wednesday's semifinal game. Against the silky smooth Spain, the US players became a collective unit, frustrating Spain with their never-say-die attitude to finally grab a surprising but fully deserved win.

As expected, Spain dominated the game in terms of possession, but the Americans' relentless pressure on the ball-carrier made Spain's quick-pass game virtually impossible as most of their passes got intercepted or were off-target. Xavi, in particular, seemed to be off his game and it resulted in a disconnect between La Roja's defense and its attack. Furthermore, they were once again without a right-winger and despite Sergio Ramos' best efforts, they were unable to effectively stretch USA's compact defense. Jay DeMerit and Oguchi Onyewu were excellent against Fernando Torres and David Villa but the Spanish also a bit of the blame after missing several scoring opportunities.

At the other end, it was pure determination that led to the US' first goal. After a nice pass by Landon Donovan, young striker Jozy Altidore outmuscled defender Joan Capdevila and fired off a shot that caught Iker Casillas on the wrong foot. Although the Real Madrid goalkeeper had a touch on the ball, it wasn't enough to steer it clear of the net and just like that the US were 1-0 up against the number one-ranked team in the world.

In the second half, the United States had pour everything they had to the defensive cause as Spain came out with guns blazing. The Americans finally caught a break at the 74th minute when Clint Dempsey capitalized on a Sergio Ramos mistake to put his team ahead 2-0. After seeing his team receive their third red card of the tournament (Michael Bradley), Bob Bradley didn't mess around with the substitutions like he did in the group stage. In the final minutes of the game, he took out his two scorers and promptly replaced them with defensive-minded players in order to keep the score intact.

At loss for solutions, Spain could only pray for a goal that never came. Despite their technical superiority, they got beat by a highly motivated, relentless, and organized United States who will participate in their biggest final yet. There we will see how they will react with the opportunity to win their first Confederations Cup.

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Posted By: Ann 2 - Category: 2009 Confederations Cup, United States, Spain

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2009 Confederations Cup: Spain Defeat South Africa 2-0, Both Teams Go To Semis

June 23rd 2009 03:33

Their qualification for the semifinals already secured, it was easy to see why Spain were a little lax in their final group game against South Africa. As a matter of fact. It was the Africans who started on the right, fighting toe to toe against Spain instead of retreating like the Spaniards' previous opponents. The red shirts' nonchalant playing was compounded by the fact that their formation lacked the width necessary to bother the South Africans' defense.

Indeed, with Xavi, Busquets, Fabregas and Riera manning the midfield, they were essentially playing with three central midfielders and one left-winger. The right wing was left for Puyol who, sadly, didn't have the legs nor the motivation to run up and down the pitch like Sergio Ramos. The resulting formation forced them to play in a narrow fashion which made South Africa's job a lot more easier.

Spain were given a nice opportunity to take the lead five minutes into the second half with a penalty-kick as Fabregas was tackled inside the box. The kick – taken by Villa – was surprisingly stopped by goalkeeper Khune who got up in time to also deny Puyol's rebound. Unfortunately, his defense wasn't as focused when the Euro champions came back for another attack thirty seconds later. Slipping between the two central defenders, Villa beautifully chested down Riera's early cross before volleying the ball to the far post for the first goal of the match. Once Spain got the leaf, there was really nothing South Africa could do. Llorente's goal twenty minutes later seemed to be the nail in the coffin, but New Zealand's draw against Iraq in the other game ensured the hosts' qualification for the semis.

Although Spain has been far above the competition they've faced so far in the tournament. There's a certain feeling that Andres Iniesta is sorely missed in the middle of th park. His creativity and complicity with fellow blaugrana Xavi would've provided great help in the first half as Spain struggled to link up as successfully as before. Still, they go on to the semis where they are the heavy favorites to go on to the final.

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Posted By: Ann 2 - Category: 2009 Confederations Cup, Spain

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2009 Confederations Cup: Spain Tops Iraq 1-0

June 20th 2009 04:11

For their second game of the competition, Spain had a lot of trouble breaking down their opponents' defense. With six defenders lined up for Iraq along with ten men playing behind the ball, the Spaniards found themselves unable to move freely about as they did against New Zealand. The changes brought by Del Bosque didn't help either as Mata didn't have the same bite as Riera while Cazorla doesn't have the same vision as Fabregas. I wondered why Del Bosque hadn't started Silva over Cazorla but a nagging injury prevented the Valencia midfielder from playing a 90-minute game.

After a frustrating first half, the Euro champs broke the deadlock ten minutes into the second half when David Villa too advantage of a mental lapse by the Iraqi to head home a cross from Capdevila. That goals was it took to ensure the three points as Casillas had a pretty quiet night in the Spanish end. The win ensures Spain's qualification in the semis.

Their qualification wasn't the only reason to rejoice. By scoring his 30th goal for his national team, Villa became the second all-time scorer of Spain, behind Raul who has 44. It was also La Roja 14th consecutive win, equaling the record shared by Australia, Brazil, and France.

Spain's line-up: Iker Casillas; Sergio Ramos, Gerard Pique, Carlos Marchena, Joan Capdevila; Santi Cazorla (David Silva, 67th), Xavi Hernandez (Sergio Busquets, 82nd), Xabi Alonso, Juan Manuel Mata; David Villa (Daniel Guiza, 74th), Fernando Torres.

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Posted By: Ann 2 - Category: 2009 Confederations Cup, Spain

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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

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