FOOTBALL Live

Wednesday February 11, 2009 Finished

2 - 0

Spain

  • Villa 35’
  • Llorente 81’

England

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  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Spain
    • England
    • 90+2' England lose 2-0 to a fantastic Spain side to which the sublime comes naturally. Don Fabio's 11-month unbeaten run comes to an end, but they had a go. He knew it was going to be a solid test: that's why he asked for it.
    • 90+1' A Becks corner is claimed by Reina, while Crouch chases about to try and create something but is unable to. England aren't going to score tonight.
    • 90' Beckham booked for dissent. If he was young we would say he needs to grow up; now we just say he is proving he cares for the England shirt. You choose what to believe.
    • 88' CARLTON COLE ALMOST SCORES A DEBUT GOAL FOR ENGLAND!! Beckham played him in wonderfully and he went wide of Reina before hitting the target - a covering defender slid back to keep the ball out of the net. Unlucky son.
    • 86' England have done okay in spurts - it is so hard to play against a side like Spain, especially in the hottest city in Europe - but are clearly some way behind their opponents in terms of quality.
    • 84' Spain change: Dani Guiza, now of Fenerbahce, on for Xavi.
    • 82' GOAL FOR SPAIN!! Athletic Bilbao striker Llorente sends a firm header into the far corner from a Xavi free-kick. England dead and buried.
    • 80' England rightly do not give the ball back. Beckham feels the sting of retribution from Liverpool man Arbeloa, while Cole comes out to strike at goal first-time - and it is way over. Still, he had the confidence to have a go.
    • 78' Beckham leaves his foot in on Barcelona man Pique, who goes down hurt. He may have caught him, but it was a touch delayed: his clearance had already gone straight out of play and so it looks as though he was avoiding embarrassment.
    • 75' England change: Carlton Cole on to make his international debut in place of Agbonlahor.
    • 75' Spain sub: Carlos Marchena on for Albiol.
    • 73' Agbonlahor attacks down the right and centres for Lampard to head at goal... again too close to Reina. England with some promising moves in the last few moments.
    • 71' Wright-Phillips cuts inside following a Beckham cross-field ball and has plenty of space... he curls a low shot at goal which Reina saves comfortably. A good effort, but too close to the keeper.
    • 68' Carrick looks for Crouch, but his touch lets him down. Capello will be learning a lot about his men, while the players will look back on this run-out against a strong Spain outfit as an important lesson, whatever happens later.
    • 66' England with some rare ball in the middle of the park. Lampard is fouled; they spread it to the far side. Ultimately Beckham is forced to go back to Green.
    • 64' Spain sub: Torres replaced by Fernando Llorente. Somewhere Rafa Benitez is breathing a sigh of relief.
    • 63' England cannot get the ball off the technically gifted Spaniards. The home fans greet each touch with a cheer.
    • 61' Xavi with another pinpoint pass through for Torres this time who takes the ball on before Upson takes it off his toe. That combo produced the winning goal of Euro 2008, and almost the second goal here.
    • 59' There is a carnival atmosphere without the urgency of the opening stages. England yet to seriously threaten their hosts, champions of Europe.
    • 56' Spain sub: David Silva is on for Villa.
    • 55' SWP attacking this time - he is on the left of course after Becks took up residence on the right. He does well to wriggle free but Cole's cross from his pass is poor.
    • 53' There is some momentum lacking, as is always the case when so many subs are made. Still, we cannot expect the players to play 90 minutes at this stage of the season.
    • 52' A similar pass through from Villa after Xavi gave him the ball sees full-back Ramos galloping down the right again. Wright-Phillips slides in to tackle.
    • 48' Xavi threads a pass down the channel for the rampaging Ramos, but Wright-Phillips does enough to put him off as the little winger backtracks.
    • 46' So Beckham earns his 108th cap, equalling the outfield record of Bobby Moore, as the game kicks off again. England now kicking to our left.
    • - Spain changes: Alvaro Arbeloa for Capdevila; Pepe Reina for Casillas.
    • - England changes at the break: Robert Green for James; Beckham for Downing; Peter Crouch for Heskey; Lampard for Barry; Upson for Jagielka.
    • 45+1' Half-time at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. As we expected: a decent England performance so far, but the passing and movement of Spain has them just ahead 1-0.
    • 45' Ramos with a fearsome strike from the right that James does well to hold.
    • 44' England have struggled to gain momentum following that opening goal. Heskey is alone in attack and there is little space for the lads in midfield.
    • 42' Iniesta finds Capdevila, who gives it to Villa... almost a second for Spain as his shot from 15 yards is blocked.
    • 40' Well played by Heskey in the corner, firing across to cause problems in the 'Furia Roja' defence.
    • 38' Senna fires a wicked shot just over which shakes the top of the net!! James just stood and watched it.
    • 36' GOAL FOR SPAIN!! Alonso produced a low pass through the middle for Villa to latch on to, turn Jagielka in the area and finish in the bottom corner!! Jags also gave the ball away in the first instance, passing low straight to the quick-thinking Liverpool man.
    • 34' Downing's effort strikes the wall.
    • 33' Wright-Phillips with a tricky run towards the home box... he is felled by Senna. The kick is 20 yards out.
    • 31' Slick passing to tee up Torres... his shot is deflected into the air, where James will catch comfortably... he fumbles!!! Only he could do that under little pressure - well maybe Scott Carson. England get away with it.
    • 29' Xavi and Villa linking up but they lose the ball as they drive into the England box. Wright-Phillips unable to keep the ball in play; no sign of any racism so far tonight thankfully.
    • 27' A quick free-kick sees Iniesta playing through Villa, who finishes - but the flag is up. He was a yard off. Still, a warning to the England defence.
    • 26' England with some territorial possession in the corner, but nothing comes of it. The home fans begin a Mexican Wave. The match, although yet to spark, is intriguing.
    • 24' Heskey flicks on for his Villa team-mate Agbonlahor in the box, but Casillas is out quickly to collect.
    • 22' Cole tempted into a challenge on Villa as he pirouettes away... the low shot from the direct free-kick is blocked.
    • 20' England compact, chasing down. Spain looking to prise them open. Villa skips across the box, feeds it back to Senna... his dipping strike is held by James.
    • 18' Iniesta, such a clever player, slips a beautiful ball through the away back-line for Villa... he is dealt with but the ball ricochets off Jagielka and out for another corner...
    • 17' Torres shoots first-time from the edge of the box... deflected over. Xavi beginning to orchestrate things, spreading the play from one side to the other. The corner is cleared.
    • 16' The match is settling into a rhythm, with England doing well enough so far. Agbonlahor looks to break free on the left but is tackled.
    • 13' Heskey bundled down as he runs through... the ref is about to give a free-kick but the linesman is flagging for offside!! He was clearly onside and fouled right on the edge of the box - shocking decision.
    • 10' Downing heads the set-piece wide of the far post. Unlucky from the Middlesbrough man.
    • 10' Agbonlahor with a touch to Wright-Phillips, who loses his footing as he breaks but manages to get the ball out to the left nonetheless... England win a corner. We have the players to counter at speed against this impressive side.
    • 8' Senna penalised for fouling Barry, although he got some of the ball. England to their credit trying to play keep-ball against the mother of all keep-ball sides.
    • 6' Cole finds Barry who spins out wide before delivering a lovely cross which Agbonlahor VOLLEYS JUST WIDE!! It was inches past the near post. The first effort on goal.
    • 4' Spain with some absolutely sublime one-touch passing, Xavi at the heart of it while Villa seems keen to get on the end of things as soon as possible...
    • 2' The crowd indignant inside the first two minutes as Jagielka tackles the striker and no free-kick is awarded. A confident start from Jags, who has had three touches already.
    • 1' After the national anthems England get the action underway, in all white and kicking from left to right. Spain in red and navy blue.
    • - The players emerge, the Spanish with tee-shirts highlighting a local girl who has gone missing.
    • - There is a cracking atmosphere inside the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, which as home to Sevilla is no stranger to cracking atmospheres. It is a 40,000+ sell-out and everyone is in full voice.
    • - Real Madrid's atheltic keeper Iker Casillas is between the sticks, behind domestic team-mate Sergio Ramos, Raul Albiol, Gerard Pique and Joan Capdevila.
    • - As for Spain, Torres does indeed start alongside Valencia striker David Villa. The twin Barcelona midfield kings Xavi and Andres Iniesta are joined by Villarreal holding star Marcos Senna and Liverpool's Xabi Alonso.
    • - David James is in goal, with Glen Johnson and Ashley Cole in the full-back positions and the expect all-Villa front line of Heskey and Agbonlahor.
    • - Michael Carrick and Barry, partners in midfield in that match in Berlin, are given the nod ahead of Lampard. Becks has to wait for cap number 108 as Shauny Wright-Phillips starts on the right, with Stewart Downing on the left.
    • - Capello has not named the expect team: Ferdinand is out with a virus and so Phil Jagielka comes in for his full international debut, partnering John Terry in the centre of defence. That is a surprise as Matthew Upson is left on the bench as the 26-year-old Everton man starts.
    • - Barcelona captain Carlos Puyol will miss out with a thigh injury, while Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas is not expected to return until April from medial ligament damage in his right knee.
    • - Liverpool striker Fernando Torres will start for Spain despite the protestations of club boss Rafael Benitez, who left the goal-getter on the bench in the match at Portsmouth at the weekend in a bid to protect his star striker. He was forced to bring him on to help overturn the 2-1 scoreline and the 24-year-old duly obliged by setting up the equaliser and scoring the injury-time winner.
    • - Manchester United centre-back Rio Ferdinand returns to the squad after missing November's friendly against Germany, and will partner captain John Terry in defence for the first time since September's 4-1 win in Croatia. Glen Johnson should feature at right-back following Luke Young's withdrawal from the squad through injury.
    • - Another of the six Aston Villa players in the squad, uncapped winger James Milner, will likely have to settle for a place on the bench as David Beckham earns his 108th international cap, equalling Bobby Moore's record for an outfield player. Steven Gerrard's torn hamstring means that Gareth Barry and Frank Lampard will start in the middle of the park.
    • - Aston Villa striker Emile Heskey shook off a knock to return to training on Tuesday, meaning he is set to partner club team-mate Gabriel Agbonlahor up front ahead of Carlton Cole. However, the in-form West Ham man is expected to play some part, especially given the continued absence of Wayne Rooney with a hamstring injury.
    • - The match will get underway at 21:00. We await the teams...
    • - Non-competitive matches have improved somewhat under Don Fabio Capello, especially since our second XI did the Germans in Germany, so this should be another interesting run-out for the Three Lions.
    • - Welcome to eurosport.yahoo.co.uk's LIVE text coverage of England's friendly against Spain in Seville.

  • Summary

    • 88' CARLTON COLE ALMOST SCORES A DEBUT GOAL FOR ENGLAND!! Beckham played him in wonderfully and he went wide of Reina before hitting the target - a covering defender slid back to keep the ball out of the net. Unlucky son.
    • 82' GOAL FOR SPAIN!! Athletic Bilbao striker Llorente sends a firm header into the far corner from a Xavi free-kick. England dead and buried.
    • 36' GOAL FOR SPAIN!! Alonso produced a low pass through the middle for Villa to latch on to, turn Jagielka in the area and finish in the bottom corner!! Jags also gave the ball away in the first instance, passing low straight to the quick-thinking Liverpool man.
    • 31' Slick passing to tee up Torres... his shot is deflected into the air, where James will catch comfortably... he fumbles!!! Only he could do that under little pressure - well maybe Scott Carson. England get away with it.
    • 6' Cole finds Barry who spins out wide before delivering a lovely cross which Agbonlahor VOLLEYS JUST WIDE!! It was inches past the near post. The first effort on goal.
    • - Welcome to eurosport.yahoo.co.uk's LIVE text coverage of England's friendly against Spain in Seville.

Live Team Line-Up

  • Referee: Stéphane Lannoy

  • Spain

    Manager: Vicente Del Bosque

    Starting line-up

    • I. Casillas Substitution Out (46′)
    • S. Ramos
    • R. Albiol Substitution Out (75′)
    • G. Pique
    • J. Capdevila Substitution Out (46′)
    • M. Senna
    • X. Alonso
    • A. Iniesta
    • .. Xavi Substitution Out (83′)
    • D. Villa Goal Substitution Out (54′)
    • F. Torres Substitution Out (62′)

    Subs

    • C. Marchena Substitution In75′
    • J. Reina Substitution In46′
    • A. Riera
    • C. Busquets
    • D. Guiza Substitution In83′
    • S. Cazorla
    • A. Arbeloa Substitution In46′
    • F. Llorente Substitution In62′ Goal
    • D. Silva Substitution In54′

    Injured

    • C. Puyol
    • C. Fabregas

    Suspended

    None

  • England

    Manager: Fabio Capello

    Captain: John Terry

    Starting line-up

    • D. James Substitution Out (46′)
    • G. Johnson Yellow Card
    • P. Jagielka Substitution Out (46′)
    • J. Terry
    • A. Cole
    • M. Carrick
    • G. Barry Substitution Out (46′)
    • S. Wright-Phillips
    • S. Downing Substitution Out (46′)
    • E. Heskey Substitution Out (46′)
    • G. Agbonlahor Substitution Out (75′)

    Subs

    • D. Beckham Substitution In46′
    • M. Upson Substitution In46′
    • F. Lampard Substitution In46′
    • W. Bridge
    • P. Crouch Substitution In46′
    • C. Cole Substitution In75′
    • J. Milner
    • R. Green Substitution In46′
    • J. Hart
    • A. Young

    Injured

    • R. Ferdinand
    • S. Gerrard
    • L. Young
    • W. Rooney

    Suspended

    None

Comment 617 - 636 of 636

Sort comments by: Most recent

  1. wow

    From gary.staveley1, on Sat 20 Jun 4:13PM

  2. nooottttttttt a good line up
    \

    From holgergrafelmann, on Fri 19 Jun 8:30PM

  3. memang fabregas tadak main

    From lugendran_ls, on Tue 9 Jun 10:37AM

  4. ENGLAND THE BEST IN THE WORLD

    From abid, on Sun 24 May 1:46PM

  5. ddddddddddddtcgvvvbbn

    From owengillon, on Sun 29 Mar 1:04PM

  6. haha England are loosers.

    From ruonisboy18, on Sat 28 Mar 10:16PM

  7. what the hell do england thing thay are doing

    From Mandy, on Sat 28 Mar 8:21AM

  8. TTTTTTOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSS­ SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

    From murataksoy2004, on Tue 24 Mar 4:57PM

  9. England will be the best team in the world soon.

    From wafi25, on Mon 16 Feb 6:23AM

  10. eriksson was the best manager for england. he is better­ than any premier league manager. he just need the right­ stuff

    From Avi, on Fri 13 Feb 11:37AM

  11. david beckham

    From Jebi, on Thu 12 Feb 7:23PM

  12. PS:after reading more posts,I have come to the­ conclusion that a lot of English people are­ illeterate,or appear to be.
    "England r lake guna­ wi de world cup,big shout out ta ma homie­ bekz"

    Anyway,Spain deserved to win the match. In­ my opinion England are a slightly above average team­ who lack the creativity needed to step up to the next­ level

    我爱爱尔­ 兰永远 :-]

    From john, on Thu 12 Feb 7:23PM

  13. so still fancy england for world cup??
    as usual­ just dreaming
    wont ever be good enough again­ unless its held in
    england again ?? but not so easy to­ have a carve up these days
    nowadays the ball got too­ cross line to be a goal ????????

    From jaggyman1, on Thu 12 Feb 7:23PM

  14. VIVA ESPANA
    TIOCFAIDH AR LA

    From john, on Thu 12 Feb 7:18PM

  15. I think we can class that as Liverpool 2, Aston Villa­ 0. lol How much class do spain have though! there are­ immense, iniesta's passing was a joy to watch!­ However England seriously missed their big names, but i­ don't understand why Ashley Young didn't get a­ chance against the big boys, he's far better than­ downing! I think spain are serios contenders for the­ next world cup!

    From ryanathompson10, on Thu 12 Feb 7:02PM

  16. Pretty passing but no where to go. No Hit man up front.­ They couldn't score a goal even if the opposition­ hadn't turned up.

    From ken.pratt, on Thu 12 Feb 6:22PM

  17. England...?
    Yet another item that we can add to the­ ¨things we used to do well¨ list, which is getting­ longer by the day...SAD!
    Beckham cannot win games by­ himself and our passing/control of the ball is­ infantile.

    By the way, fire James!...I´ve seen­ swamplife with better reflexes...or is it politically­ incorrect to say such things, as true as thay may be!

    From cjmit64, on Thu 12 Feb 6:08PM

  18. whats up with england

    From dmservice, on Thu 12 Feb 6:00PM

  19. come on england but i don't care who wins it's­ only a friendly!

    From dmservice, on Thu 12 Feb 5:59PM

  20. Spain is the BEST!!!

    From tdss76, on Thu 12 Feb 5:37PM
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