Just as Klinsman suggested at half.......get it to Villa
83 min: Spain get the ball out to Villa on the left wing again. Ricardo Costa is a study in concentration, staring at the Jabulani as his nemesis jinks this way and that. He eventually sticks his foot in and wins the ball, prompting Villa to fall over and appeal for a free. None is forthcoming and Costa waltzes out of defence to safety.
82 min: "I've got an easy way for you to describe the goal: 'offside'," writes Dale K Privet. "Interesting how this time we didn't get the replay showing whether it was definitely onside. Sepp obviously had a word after the fiasco in the Mexico game."
67 min: Say what you like about the long ball game, but doing a minute-by-minute report on a match involving Blackburn Rovers v Liverpool is a lot easier than writing one on a match involving Spain, Barcelona or Arsenal. I've seen that goal about four times now and I still can't figure out a way to describe it properly.
GOAL! Spain 1-0 Portugal (Villa 62 ) Spain finally tiki-taka their way through the Portugal defence, with Andres Iniesta, among others, ping-ping-pinging a series of short passes through a thicket of five or six defenders on the edge of the penalty area. Xavi slid the ball out wide to Villa on the left-side of the penalty area. The talismanic striker's first effort was saved by Eduardo, who could only parry the ball into Villa's path. Second time lucky, off the underside of the bar.
61 min: A shocking miss from Fernando Llorente with his first touch. Diving to convert a cross home from five or six yards out, he heads straight at Eduardo when a steer a couple of feet either side of the goalkeeper would almost certainly have resulted in a goal.
59 min: "Portugal was ruled by Spain from 1580 to 1640," writes CONor Dean. "It was called the Iberian Union but it was the sort of 'union' Ireland got roped into
with Great Britain and Portugal had to fight to get its independence back. Which it got - one of the reasons this game is spicier for the Portuguese than Spanish. Which might explain Colin Bolster's girlfriend getting bothered." I reckon the reason's Colin Bolster's girlfriend is getting bothered are more to do with Colin Bolster than Portugal's time under the heel of Spanish oppression.
58 min: Portugal substitution: Almeida off, Danny on. Spain substitution: Fernando Torres off, Fernando Llorente on.
56 min: Portugal go forward, Meireles pings a cross in towards the Spain goal and Casillas punches clear.
55 min: Spain try to go over-the-top, with a bomb from deep dropping in towards Torres in the penalty area. Carvalho heads clear.
54 min: Xavi and Ramos combine down the right wing, but the former's return pass to the latter has too much welly on it and trickles through to Eduardo.
52 min: After breaking down the right with the ball at his feet and Cristiano Ronaldo haring down the centre, Hugo Almeida cuts inside Pique and unleashes a shot. With Carles Puyol aware that Ronaldo is lurking behind him, he sticks out a leg and the ball loops up in the air, over Iker Casillas's head and bounces inches wide of the post. Casillas thought that was heading into his goal - he's not the only one.
50 min: Sergio Ramos crosses from the left, Portugal clear. Iniesta dinks a ball over the top for Torres to chase, but Coentrao hacks clear. Portugal attack on the break and almost score.
49 min: Xavi tries to pick out Iniesta wandering in the narrow strip of no-man's land between the two banks of four defending the the Portugal penalty area. The pass goes astray and Portugal break, only to see their counter-attack fail due to lack of numbers.
48 min: The second half has picked up where the first half left off, at a snail's pace with Spain pressing and probing, trying unsuccessfully to find an opening, with Portugal defending patiently and resolutely, content to attack on the break.
Second half: In the BBC studio, Jurgen Klinsman reckons that Spain need to get the ball out to David Villa on the left flank and isolate Portugal right-back Ricardo Costa. It's a fiendishly cvlever plan that will almost certainly work, but one they've been unable to execute more than once or twice throughout the first half.
Keith Shaw writes: "The biggest problem for Spain is that Xavi has looked tired since March," he writes. "He might not play in the Best League in the World (TM), but Euro 2008, World Club Championship, and Confederations Cup have taken their toll."
Last edited by usasoccer; 06/29/10 08:16 PM.
