By Kenneth Tan/Red Sports
South Africa, Tuesday, June 29, 2010 — After an opening loss to Switzerland, alarm bells have been ringing around the Spanish national team. Since then, they had been on a slow and steady renaissance and finally they produced their best performance to date as they edged past Portugal 1-0 in the quarter-finals.
They clearly stated their intent early on as forwards David Villa and Fernando Torres started peppering shots at Julio Eduardo’s goal with each of them threatening on two occasions.
Portugal had a good spell midway through the first half with Tiago and Cristiano Ronaldo’s long range efforts forcing Iker Casillas into making saves. Hugo Almeida wasted the best opportunity at the end of the first half as he headed wide a left-wing cross.
Fernando Llorente replaced Torres just before the hour mark and nearly made an immediate impact as his diving header from a right-wing cross was just tipped away by Eduardo at his near post.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man as David Villa was Spain’s saviour once again on 63 minutes. A through pass by Xavi was flicked on by Andres Iniesta into his path just inside the box. His initial shot was blocked but he did not waste his second bite of the cherry as he curled the ball high past Eduardo into the middle of the goal.
It was a goal that broke Portugal’s resistance as they failed to conjure up any significant move to threaten the Spanish goal. The world’s most expensive footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo, capped his disappointing outing by firing wide his shot from outside the box at the end of regulation time.
To rub salt into wound, right back Ricardo Costa was sent off for an elbow on Spain left back Joan Capdevila.
It was yet another failure for Portugal on the international stage as they have to wait four more years in their quest to win their first ever World Cup trophy. Meanwhile the Spanish pitbulls will be the overwhelming favorites when they take on surprise qualifiers Paraguay in the quarter-finals.
Three more hurdles to overcome for David Villa and company if they want to achieve their country’s first ever World Cup triumph.
More News and Reactions
Video highlights of the match
Game photos
Goal.com players’ ratings
Guardian.co.uk: David Villa raises the roof as Spain push past Portugal
2010 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 Fixtures
| SGP DATE/DAY | SGP TIME | COUNTRY A | COUNTRY B | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 26, Sat | 10pm | Uruguay  | 2 | South Korea  | 1 |
| Jun 27, Sun | 2.30am | USA  | 1 | Ghana  | 2 |
| Jun 27, Sun | 10pm | Germany  | 4 | England  | 1 |
| Jun 28, Mon | 2.30am | Argentina  | 3 | Mexico  | 1 |
| Jun 28, Mon | 10pm | Holland  | 2 | Slovakia  | 1 |
| Jun 29, Tue | 2.30am | Brazil  | 3 | Chile  | 0 |
| Jun 29, Tue | 10pm | Paraguay  | 0 (5) | Japan  | 0 (3) |
| Jun 30, Wed | 2.30am | Spain  | 1 | Portugal  | 0 |
For the World Cup fixtures list with Singapore broadcast timings as well as group tables and the list of CCs with free screenings, go to: http://redsports.sg/2010-world-cup-fixtures-groups/
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