France received chilling notice that the road to post-World Cup redemption will be long and hard when they lost 1-0 to Belarus in Paris on Friday, while Portugal threw away two points in a frantic 4-4 draw at home to Cyprus.
England and Italy were able to start repairing their reputations with contrasting wins in their first Euro 2012 qualifiers and Spain swatted away Liechtenstein 4-0 with an ease befitting their status as world and European champions.
England played with the quick passing and invention that eluded them in South Africa as they beat Bulgaria 4-0 at Wembley, Jermain Defoe netting a smartly taken hat-trick and Adam Johnson getting the fourth in the Group G clash.
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Spain have won the 2010 FIFA World Cup!
European champions Spain looked the more assured early on in the clash at Soccer City as a nervous-looking Dutch side ceded territory to their slick opponents.
Netherlands goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg was forced into a diving save after five minutes when Sergio Ramos headed a Xavi cross goalwards while Spain forward David Villa crashed a volley into the side netting with the goal looming.
However, a series of free kicks and bookings, including two strong challenges by Dutch midfield enforcers Nigel de Jong and Mark van Bommel, shook Spain out of their rhythm.
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Paul, the German Octopus that have been spot-on with all his predictions thus far in the World Cup (including Germany’s shock defeat to Serbia in the group stages), have predicted that Spain will win the 2010 FIFA World Cup on Sunday when they come up against the Dutch.
Pic: timeslive.co.za
Carles Puyol sent Spain through to the 2010 FIFA World Cup with a stunning header and only goal of the match to help La Furia Roja beat Germany 1 – 0 on Wednesday.
The Barcelona centre-back powered home a header from 10 yards from Xavi’s corner 17 minutes from time to send the reigning European champions into their first ever World Cup final.
Holland reached the title game by beating Uruguay 3-2 in Cape Town on Tuesday.
It means there will be a new name on the trophy for the first time since France claimed victory on home soil in 1998.
Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque had sprung a surprise before kick-off by dropping out-of-form Liverpool forward Fernando Torres and replacing him with Barcelona youngster Pedro.
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Barcelona’s new striker David Villa scored the only goal of the match between Spain and Portugal last night to see the European Champions beat the Portuguese 1 – 0 at Cape Town Stadium.
Villa pounced in the 63rd minute of an absorbing encounter that saw plenty of chances and Portugal’s Ricardo Costa sent off, chipping a rebound over goalkeeper Eduardo after his first shot was saved.
It was enough to put Spain into a last eight showdown on Saturday against the South Americans, who crushed Japanese hopes in a dramatic 5-3 penalty shoot-out earlier in the day.
Whoever gets through that match has either Argentina or Germany awaiting them in the semi-finals.
In a stadium packed to the rafters with Spanish and Portuguese fans, Spain quickly signalled their intentions with Fernando Torres testing Eduardo with a shot from the edge of the box in the opening minute.
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David Villa scored a double to help Spain on the recovery track by beating Honduras 2 – 0 in their Group H clash at Ellis Park on Monday.
After losing their opening game 1-0 to Switerzerland, the easy victory puts Spain on course to reach the last 16, providing Vicente Del Bosque’s side can beat Chile on Friday.
Honduras rarely threatened the Euro 2008 winners and after their second defeat are out of contention in the tournament, while Spain will need to produce a more convincing display if they are to progress far in the tournament.
The Central American minnows looked pedestrian while Spain attacked in waves as Villa’s brilliance shone for his goals on 17 and 51 minutes, but he wasted the chance to complete his hat-trick when he missed a second-half penalty.
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Spain striker Fernando Torres will not participate in Spain’s opening World Cup Group H match against Switzerland on Wednesday,coach Vicente del Bosque said.
The striker looked to be near full fitness in training at Spain’s base in Potchefstroom on Sunday as he continued his recovery from the knee surgery he had in April but caution seems to be the priority for the coach.
“I don’t think he’ll play the first match, although he is not ruled out either,” Del Bosque said in an interview with Spanish television broadcaster Telecinco late on Saturday.
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The USA have stunned the World’s number one team Spain 2 – 0 to reach the finals of the Confederations Cup in South Africa.
A first half strike from Villarreal’s Jozy Altidore and another 16 minutes from time by Fulham’s Clint Dempsey did the damage on Wednesday in what will go down as one of the biggest victories in US football history.
They also had a flawless performance by Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard and a commendable defensive display to thank for earning them a shot at the trophy on Sunday against either Brazil or hosts South Africa.
“When you play Spain you certainly have to work very hard as a group to defend. We made a special point to close down Xavi as best we could to prevent his penetrative passes,” said Bradley.
“We felt strongly that when we got the ball we needed to be aggressive and have the confidence that we could keep the ball and move it.
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