Confederations Cup - Spain win breaks record

Eurosport - Mon, 22 Jun 12:06:00 2009

European champions Spain set a world record of 15 successive wins with a 2-0 Confederations Cup victory over hosts South Africa in Bloemfontein.

FOOTBALL 2009 Confederations Cup Spain David Villa - 0

David Villa made up for a missed penalty by putting Spain into the lead on 52 minutes before substitute Fernando Llorente put the result beyond doubt with the second 20 minutes later.

Despite the defeat, South Africa joined their opponents in the semi-finals as Iraq were held to a goalless draw by New Zealand in Johannesburg in the other Group A match.

Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque opted to rest several players, most notably Iker Casillas, Carlos Marchena and Sergio Ramos, but it was far from a weak XI that took to the bobbly pitch in Bloemfontein.

In came Liverpool trio Pepe Reina, Alvaro Arbeloa and Albert Riera, along with Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas and, as expected, the European champions dominated the opening exchanges.

Riera posed the earliest threat to Itumeleng Khune in the South Africa goal, pinging a fourth-minute free-kick on target only to see the keeper save with an athletic dive to his left.

But surprisingly, the dual strike threat of Fernando Torres and Villa was unusually subdued early on, largely due to some rugged South African defending.

Torres did manage to find a way through, twice, but on both occasions the Liverpool hitman was denied by Khune, the second time with an excellent save.

South Africa came into the game more as the first half went on, but without a cool head in front of goal, Reina was not called into action and enjoyed a relatively comfortable opening period.

Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar was at the centre of most things good for the hosts, most notably during a three-minute spell as the half drew to a close when he twice laid on chances for Bernard Parker and then Teko Modise. Both chances ended up sailing over Reina's crossbar.

The hosts' lack of a finishing touch came back to bite them soon after the restart, although they could be forgiven for feeling aggrieved at the manner of Spain's opener.

The same could not be said for the penalty which Aaron Mokoena conceded moments before the goal went in, the former Blackburn man diving in on Fabregas as he burst into the box.

But Villa saw his spot kick brilliantly saved by Khune, who also stopped the follow-up from Carles Puyol.

South Africa's resistance was finally broken just a minute later, Villa finally finding a way through, although there was a strong hint of handball as he brought down the ball before hitting a first-time volley into the far corner.

South Africa players protested loudly but referee Pablo Pozo was not interested.

The Chilean official was, however, more than willing to sound his whistle soon after when, having allowed the decision to affect their discipline somewhat, the hosts briefly showed their frustration with a succession of bad tackles.

First Teko Modise and then Kagisho Dikgacoi had their names taken before Gerard Pique joined them as the game threatened to descend into an unsavoury scrap.

Fortunately, South Africa regained their composure soon enough and began to play some promising football, although the game was put beyond their reach with the second goal on 72 minutes.

Llorente got it, having been on the pitch a mere 11 minutes. The Villarreal striker turned and fired inside the near post after Xavi's centre had come his way via Fabregas's miscued shot.

Two-nil down to arguably the best team in the world, and it was always going to be an uphill struggle for South Africa to get a result from the game.

So it proved, but Iraq's failure to score against New Zealand meant the night nevertheless finished on a high for the Bafana Bafana fans in Bloemfontein, who were able to celebrate when news of the other result finally filtered through.

Mike Hytner / Eurosport

Comment 20 - 39 of 39

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  1. Wonderful hand-ball goal by Villa against South Africa,­ surely establishes him in the elite group of Cheats Not­ Caught along with other much vaunted cheats like Drogba­ and Ronaldo and a myriad of super talented roll models­ who demonstrate the art. Spain, and the whole world of­ football should be proud of such a talent, you never­ know, he might even have that sneaky move named after­ him! 'The arm of Villa',....has a nice ring to­ it don't you think?

    From lysdexic, on Mon 22 Jun 11:05AM

  2. my my my, such bitterness in the world of fussball! ­ You would think half the world has forgotten something:­ IT IS A GAME !!! Yes, there is pride as there is­ in tennis or formular one or hockey. But a very wise­ person once called these all: GAMES (or­ matches)!
    Loosen up lads, there are more important­ things in life, such as finding a cure for cancer or­ the common cold.
    Chill out and ENJOY sports !!
    Today­ Spain is the best. In five years maybe Uruguay. In­ ten years maybe Russia !
    So what????
    Guenter/ Chicago

    From Guenter S, on Mon 22 Jun 1:18AM
  3. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    I discorvered a hot place­
    """""""W e a­ lthyFinder C­ om""""""" where many­ sexy singles- who like dating and-- chatting there.­ I'm an open- minded girl with strong s---exual­ a--ttraction I-- am Waiting 4 u

    From hotsummer00783, on Sun 21 Jun 11:26AM

  4. viva espana y fernando torres. liverpool y espana­ siempre

    From stephen m, on Sun 21 Jun 10:45AM

  5. ryan_tyan,
    I do not like the Deutschen , eingebildet­ vor allem. For not liking Spain you have 1 point, and­ this is your personal view. The football Spain is doing­ lately is more of musiK than the Hammer den Ball German­ style football. The brain is in the footwork and­ teamwork , not POWER and remember Ballacks behaviour­ after the match, typisch Deutsch ¡¡¡
    Sorry sir, you are­ loosing ground, cheer up, we live in a dynamic world,­ and it is SPANISH TIME now,
    Viva España.

    From ray, on Sun 21 Jun 10:38AM
  6. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    its true its true, spain stinks of poo!

    From barnes.john23, on Sun 21 Jun 10:34AM

  7. ryan_tyan, no that's we russians who will claim 4­ it :-)

    From andreiyelckin, on Sun 21 Jun 10:09AM

  8. para mi españa ha demostrado ser el mejor equipo del­ mundo , vamos
    españa campeones¡¡¡¡¡ ya lo demostro­ con los alemanes en la eurocopa !!!

    From azofacity, on Sun 21 Jun 9:56AM
  9. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    well,honestly,that wasnt a weakened Spain,lets face­ it,from the way they played a very good team would have­ scored more than two goals against Spain,just luckty­ S.Africa didnt have the composure,surely cannot play as­ such against either Italy or Egypt,well, the AFRICANS­ ARE COMING

    From victorcud, on Sun 21 Jun 8:47AM

  10. Had England won 749 consecutive matches we would be­ talking about them having won every World,European­ Nations cups as well as all the Home Internationals­ ever played.
    Hindsight is a great thing!

    From Perry Neeham, on Sun 21 Jun 8:33AM

  11. I must admit that I am quite bitter still as I recall­ Spains 1-0 victory over my German team in the Euro 08­ championship. I do not like Spain, nor will I ever in­ my lifetime. However, I do respect any team that can­ win that many matches on world turf, and that being­ Spain, I do applaud the Spanish team and their fans for­ a job well done. Congrats mates! But, see you next­ summer, we Germans want revenge!

    From RyanG, on Sun 21 Jun 8:18AM

  12. Dave the record of consecutive wins WAS 14 held by­ Brazil, France and Australia. That has been surpassed­ by Spain with 15 consecutive wins. As for the unbeaten­ run, the record is 37 by Romarios Brazil and Spain are­ up to 35. If they win this tournament they´ll­ definitely beat the record cause their next 2 games are­ against Belgium and Estonia at home.

    From Charles, on Sun 21 Jun 7:35AM
  13. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    it amazes me how misinformed this thread is .... atm­ Spain is equalled with Brazil and as for the 35 games­ unbeaten this is also held by Brazil and France .. FFS­ get the fatcs right Jez ! .... also don't knock­ another country by stupid imbicilic comments just­ because you have an ego and a chip on your shoulder ...­ put up and shut up .... no wonder the world is so­ unhospitable ... best thing that can happen to the humn­ race is extinction !

    From Dave G, on Sun 21 Jun 6:30AM
  14. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    spain stinks of excrement. Every part of spain smells­ of raw sewage. disgusting filthy smelly spaniards

    From barnes.john23, on Sun 21 Jun 12:59AM

  15. Although SA lost but i give them credit for what they­ have played against Spain. They flexed muscle like­ African suppose to but bad officiating at the wee hour­ marred their effort. First goal was aided by hand!!!!­ Brilliant save by the goalkeeper, what more can anybody­ asked for? Two saves in a matter of seconds! The world­ should be ready for SA'10 because that Cup is not­ leaving our land - AFRICA. Cant wait for Egypt to­ qualify too by tutoring my landlords, the USA.

    From Dynamic, on Sun 21 Jun 12:57AM

  16. Spain is by far the best team on the world!!! In all­ fronts middle field, strikers, D, G simply dream-team!!­ Brazil is 2nd best so if they meet (and they will) next­ week it should be REAL football feast. Same for WC­ those will go DEEP!

    From Mirek P, on Sun 21 Jun 12:12AM

  17. the Llorente in the spanish national team plays for­ atletic de Bilbao and not Villareal

    From Charles, on Sat 20 Jun 11:53PM

  18. I wanted to give my opinion about the comment No. 6,­ the best player in Spain is called David Villa, the­ child has a unique talent. Fernando Torres is a great­ player, but no better than Villa! The best selection is­ Iker Casillas!
    Greetings from Mallorca, Spain!

    From mallorquin86, on Sat 20 Jun 11:31PM

  19. SPAIN ARE THE BEST WE SHOULD ALL HAIL THEN FOR A WELL­ DON JOB

    From Agiete, on Sat 20 Jun 11:23PM

  20. albertthegreat007
    when? Do u think england is in this­ confederations cup? lol! By the way, wasn't it­ spain who ate england last time in the friendly they­ had? what was that score again? was it 2-0? lol!

    From owen, on Sat 20 Jun 11:19PM
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