Anyone watching the match between Spain and Portugal may have been forgiven that they had tuned in for a match at the Nou Camp, with no less than six FC Barcelona players on pitch for the Spanish squad:
Gerard Pique
Carles Puyol
Andres Iniesta
David Villa
Xavi
Sergio Busquets
At times the play looked very like Barça, which should mean that Barça’s new signing, David Villa, has already settled into the style of his new team mates.
“The longer the game went on, the more possession Spain seemed to have. Pass, pass, pass. Yet Portugal’s defence – unbreached in the group stage, even against Brazil – was a securely closed door. Secure that is until Andres Iniesta and Xavi unpicked the lock with quick and precise passing to send David Villa one one one with Eduardo.”
Read Match Review & Highlights: Spain 1-0 Portugal at World Cup Blog
And like Barça, the Spanish squad absolutely dominated possession of the ball, with Cristiano Ronaldo hardly getting a touch. While that possession didn’t translate into a huge goal tally – like sometimes happens with Barça – at least the football was good to watch, unlike that of some of the teams – England anybody?
Portugal’s defence pretty much stopped Spain from scoring more goals, but for most of the match it looked like defending was all they could do. Spain’s next match is against Paraguay in the quarter-finals on July 3rd. They’re looking good to make the semis.
Match Review & Highlights: Spain 1-0 Portugal
Tags: Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal, Spanish, World Cup
