Sparkling Spain beat disappointing Russia 3-0

Keystone

Spain have scored three second-half goals to beat Russia 3-0 and reach the final of Euro 2008, giving them a chance to shed their reputation as football's biggest chokers.

Xavi Hernandez, Dani Güiza and David Silva scored a goal each to give the Spaniards a shot at their second European title when they play Germany on Sunday in Vienna.

Spain, who won the 1964 European tournament, ended their run of five quarterfinal defeats by beating Italy in a penalty shootout on Sunday, but they confirmed their title aspirations with their penetrative passing on a slick surface in the pouring rain against Russia.

“It was difficult, especially the first half. I think it was an extraordinary second half,” Spain coach Luis Aragonés said. “That’s what we wanted, to be in the final. But there’s an adversary called Germany, that is going to be interesting.”

Spain will face Germany without striker David Villa, who was injured while taking a free kick in the first half. Villa, the tournament’s leading scorer with four goals, limped off the field and was replaced by Cesc Fabregas in the 34th minute.

Xavi scored the first goal in the 50th minute after an exchange of passes with Andres Iniesta, who eluded one defender before crossing the ball into the box for Xavi to side-foot past goalkeeper Igor Akinfeyev.

Two Spanish substitutes combined to make it 2-0 in the 73rd minute. Fabregas flicked a ball over the top and Güiza finished with the outside of his right foot high into the net.

Fabregas then slid a pass through for an unmarked Silva inside the box in the 82nd minute and he scored.

Winning formula

Spain, who beat the Soviet Union 2-1 in the 1964 final in Madrid, had never lost to Russia in four previous matches – including a 4-1 win two weeks ago in the first round – and they didn’t look like blemishing that record from the start in the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna.

Russia was without central defender Denis Kolodin and substitute Dmitri Torbinski from the 3-1 extra-time win over the Netherlands on Saturday due to suspension from accumulated cards. Kolodin was replaced by Vasily Berezutsky.

Spain retained the same team that beat Italy in the shootout after a scoreless draw. It was the fourth time in five matches that Aragones had fielded the same line-up, with the reserve players only getting their chance in a meaningless group win over Greece.

Spain striker Fernando Torres had the first chance, spinning inside the box in the sixth minute after getting a pass from Villa and forcing Akinfeyev into a save down low as lightning flashed in the night sky.

Five minutes later, with the game stretched due to Spain’s crisp passing, Villa received the ball 25 metres out and hit a rising drive that Akinfeyev turned around the post.

Andrei Arshavin, who had scored in both games since returning from a two-match ban, had his first real involvement when he was taken down by Carles Puyol in the 16th minute. Strike partner Roman Pavlyuchenko couldn’t keep the 30-metre free kick from only just going over the crossbar.

A one-two from a throw-in involving Torres in the 24th minute allowed Sergio Ramos to hit a speculative left-footed shot from near the right touchline that Akinfeyev comfortably held.

Incisive

Spain was the more incisive with its passing in the first half, giving Iniesta, Villa and Torres half-chances that were ultimately ruined by either the slick surface, a poor final touch or the safe hands of Akinfeyev.

Marcos Senna had performed admirably in mopping up any Russian breakouts, but there was little he could do to stop Pavlyuchenko from unleashing a curling 30-metre shot that goalkeeper Iker Casillas finger-tipped around the post in the 31st minute.

Four minutes later, Villa had been replaced with a leg injury and Pavlyuchenko almost rewarded the brief momentum swing toward Russia when he controlled a long pass on his chest and toe-poked the ball just wide from close range.

Spain took only five minutes after halftime to break the deadlock, and Torres should have made it 2-0 in the 52nd minute but he blasted his shot over the bar from an angle after a sublime through ball from Fabregas.

Spain completely dominated Russia in the second half, with only terrible finishing from Torres and last-ditch defending keeping the game close.

Dutch-born Russia coach Guus Hiddink still has never taken a team past the semifinals, falling at that stage when leading the Netherlands at the 1998 World Cup and with South Korea four years later.

“It was [the Spaniards’] plan that they were going to make us tired so we couldn’t make a fist of it in the second half,” Hiddink said after the match. “However, we can be proud of reaching where we did and of coming third. We faced really strong opposition tonight and they deserved to win.”

swissinfo with agencies

In brief

Russia: Igor Akinfeyev, Alexander Anyukov, Sergei Ignashevich, Vasily Berezutsky, Yuri Zhirkov, Sergei Semak, Konstantin Zyryanov, Igor Semshov (Diniyar Belyaletdinov, 56), Ivan Sayenko, Andrei Arshavin, Roman Pavlyuchenko.

Spain: Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Carles Puyol, Carlos Marchena, Joan Capdevila, Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez (Xabi Alonso, 68), Marcos Senna, David Silva, David Villa (Cesc Fabregas, 34), Fernando Torres (Dani Güiza, 68).

Euro 2008

Switzerland is co-hosting the Euro 2008 football tournament with Austria from June 7-29.

The first round games were played in four cities in Switzerland (Basel, Bern, Geneva and Zurich) and four cities in Austria (Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Salzburg and Vienna). The semifinals were hosted by Basel and Vienna and the final will be held in Vienna on June 29.

The finals will be broadcast in 170 countries and are expected to be watched by about eight billion cumulative TV viewers.