Euro 2008 - Day 8: Last Minute Strike Puts Spain on Top of Sweden
June 15th 2008 00:22
While Sweden had to deal with injuries to Christian Wilhelmsson and Niclas Alexandersson, Luis Aragonés could count on the same squad that defeated Russia 4-1... until the 24th minute. Defense leader Carles Puyol who was spectacular against the Russians couldn't seem to get into the game, a rare occurence for a dominant veteran like him. His substitution right before the half-hour mark surely wasn't a good sign for the Spanish team as he was the defense's general, and could be a sign of injury.
But let's back up a bit. After a subdued start from both teams, Spain opened the scoring at the 15th minute after performing a textbook corner kick straight from the training ground. Xavi Hernández played it short to Villa who immediately passed it to Silva who was wide open outside the box. Under no pressure, Silva crossed the ball into the box where Fernando Torres deflected it past Isaksson. It was the first goal for Liverpool's striker who hadn't been too happy about his performance against Russia.
Spain's exuberance, however, was dampened by Puyol's early exit less than ten minutes after their goal. For a while, Spain looked like they were going to be okay with Raul Albiol but Sweden's equalizing goal at the 34th minute showed why Puyol is the cornerstone of that defense. Right back Fredrik Stoor crossed the ball to Zlatan Ibrahimovic who chested it down, managed to avoid Sergio Ramos' tackle, and kicked it past Casillas who had a touch, just not firm enough. I have the feeling that had Puyol been at his usual place, blocking the shooting lane, Ibrahimovic might not have been able to fire the shot. Casillas should also be partly to blame since he could've stopped that shot. I think he was surprised that the defenders had let Ibrahimovic turn (he had his back to the goal when he received the ball) unchallenged.
The second half was all about Spain's forwards repeatedly getting denied by a superb Isaksson. Since Ibrahimovic had been substituted at halftime, Sweden didn't have the same spark in front as Henrik Larsson was unable to do it all by himself. Aragonés took a huge gamble at the hour mark, taking off his two attacking midfielders, Iniesta (who was ineffective) and Xavi, to replace them by Fàbregas and Carloza. It was a big risk since there was still half an hour to be played and Spain had no more substitutions in case of an injury. The Spaniards continued to press on in the later stages of the second half with both Silva and Fàbregas darting in the Swedish box to no avail. Finally, at the last minute of the game, defender Capdevila cleared the ball down the field, Villa beat two Swedish defenders to get to it (with a nice first touch on the ball), and sent the ball to the second post, effectively beating Isaksson.
With this goal, Spain took the lead in the group and are now qualified for the quarterfinals. They'll have to wait for the result of the game between Sweden and Russia to see if they'll finish first or second.
My man of the match: David Villa. He scored the winning goal in the final minutes of the game, gvign his team Group D's first place.
Honorable mentions:
- Andreas Isaksson. The Swedish goalkeeper tried his best to prevent Spain from scoring a second-goal. Unfortunately, David Villa's effort in extra-time managed to beat him, giving the victory to Spain.
- David Silva. He was by far the best midfielder of the Spanish team. He has to start taking more chances on goal instead of setting up his teammates all the time.
But let's back up a bit. After a subdued start from both teams, Spain opened the scoring at the 15th minute after performing a textbook corner kick straight from the training ground. Xavi Hernández played it short to Villa who immediately passed it to Silva who was wide open outside the box. Under no pressure, Silva crossed the ball into the box where Fernando Torres deflected it past Isaksson. It was the first goal for Liverpool's striker who hadn't been too happy about his performance against Russia.
Spain's exuberance, however, was dampened by Puyol's early exit less than ten minutes after their goal. For a while, Spain looked like they were going to be okay with Raul Albiol but Sweden's equalizing goal at the 34th minute showed why Puyol is the cornerstone of that defense. Right back Fredrik Stoor crossed the ball to Zlatan Ibrahimovic who chested it down, managed to avoid Sergio Ramos' tackle, and kicked it past Casillas who had a touch, just not firm enough. I have the feeling that had Puyol been at his usual place, blocking the shooting lane, Ibrahimovic might not have been able to fire the shot. Casillas should also be partly to blame since he could've stopped that shot. I think he was surprised that the defenders had let Ibrahimovic turn (he had his back to the goal when he received the ball) unchallenged.
The second half was all about Spain's forwards repeatedly getting denied by a superb Isaksson. Since Ibrahimovic had been substituted at halftime, Sweden didn't have the same spark in front as Henrik Larsson was unable to do it all by himself. Aragonés took a huge gamble at the hour mark, taking off his two attacking midfielders, Iniesta (who was ineffective) and Xavi, to replace them by Fàbregas and Carloza. It was a big risk since there was still half an hour to be played and Spain had no more substitutions in case of an injury. The Spaniards continued to press on in the later stages of the second half with both Silva and Fàbregas darting in the Swedish box to no avail. Finally, at the last minute of the game, defender Capdevila cleared the ball down the field, Villa beat two Swedish defenders to get to it (with a nice first touch on the ball), and sent the ball to the second post, effectively beating Isaksson.
With this goal, Spain took the lead in the group and are now qualified for the quarterfinals. They'll have to wait for the result of the game between Sweden and Russia to see if they'll finish first or second.
My man of the match: David Villa. He scored the winning goal in the final minutes of the game, gvign his team Group D's first place.
Honorable mentions:
- Andreas Isaksson. The Swedish goalkeeper tried his best to prevent Spain from scoring a second-goal. Unfortunately, David Villa's effort in extra-time managed to beat him, giving the victory to Spain.
- David Silva. He was by far the best midfielder of the Spanish team. He has to start taking more chances on goal instead of setting up his teammates all the time.
| 61 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
