I think Spain dodged a bullet.
This was a great game, end to end and arguably, Portugal had as many good chances as Spain did. Xavi was slightly offside for Spain's first goal. David Villa, once again, with the calm finish at the second attempt.
But as the game wore on, not only did Spain not assert themselves over what I considered a feeble Portuguese side, the latter actually grew in strength.
Finally, left back Joan Capdevilla cheated blatantly when he went down clutching his face, alleging contact from Ricardo Costa. For Costa, who was sent off, a terrible game ended in fitting fashion. Spain are good enough to win by playing their natural game, why resort to gamesmanship. Will this come back to haunt them ?
Primadonna Cristiano Ronaldo was anonymous but around him Portugal stepped their game up. Ronaldo's tepid form for country continues.
I was especially impressed by the surging runs of Portugal left back Fabio Contrerao while Spanish striker Fernando Llorente was a presence at the front after coming on as a substitute for the ineffective Fernando Torres.
Spain progress but have still not gotten out of second gear, a brief period against Honduras apart.
Paraguay, who I feel have had the best defence (and admittedly little more) at the World Cup so far, await with a much stiffer challenge.
Can Villa keep pulling them through ?
Spain 1 - 0 Portugal
No comments:
Post a Comment