Spain....this time?

Spain....this time?

I watched Spain beat Russia 4-1 this morning, and wondered, probably like most people, whether this would finally be the year they actually won something.

 

David Villa is class and took all three of his goals brilliantly; his partnership with Torres is easily the most dangerous in the tournament.

 

Ironically, I thought Russia looked pretty good up until Spain scored their first goal and also threw some panic into the Spanish side when they came back to 3-1 and pressed for a second goal.  Spain�s fourth was on the break and Fabregas was actually offside too.

 

Spain don�t usually win their first match at major championships � this was just the third time they�ve won their opening match in the last nine tournaments in which they�ve played.  Here are their last eight first round results, and at which stage of the tournament they were eliminated.

 

2006 WC � beat Ukraine 4-0, lost in last 16

 

2004 EC � beat Russia 1-0, eliminated in group stage

 

2002 WC � beat Slovenia 3-1, lost to Korea in quarters (penalties)

 

2000 EC � lost to Norway 1-0, lost to France in quarters

 

1998 WC � lost to Nigeria 2-3, eliminated in group stage

 

1996 EC � drew with Bulgaria 1-1, lost to England in quarters (penalties)

 

1994 WC � drew with Korea 2-2, lost to Italy in quarters

 

1992 EC � did not qualify

 

1990 WC � drew 0-0 with Uruguay, lost to Yugoslavia in last 16

 

Spain should win this group easily, but then have to face the second placed side in Group C, which could be France, Italy or Romania....they could easily go out in the quarters again.

 

 

liverpoolfan12008-06-11 11:43:26

I thought they looked excellent, but I also thought they looked excellent against Ukraine in 2006.

Hmmmm, maybe.

Remember as you have stated LF1, they did hammer Ukraine 4-0 in their opening match of the 06 World Cup leading to everyone getting excited about them. So yeah, i'll believe it when i see it.

No chance

There is are two major differences here:

1. The players are wiser and more experienced now.

2. In 2006, they run into a very strong French side inspirationally run by Zidane which had just hit top form in that tournament.

The Spanish do have a difficult road to winning the Championships because of the way the draw is set up, but they looked stunning at times this morning.

They're teasing me, I just know they will hurt me in the end.  They always do.

This is wrong, Spain won this game 1-0. They lost to Portugal and drew with Greece, and finished third behind Greece on goal difference, and Portugal who topped the group with two wins and a loss.

No problemo

great to see loads of goals being scored thus far, hope the Spanish can carry this form on!

16 in 8 games?

2 good games in 8 is a poor ratio

Portugal - Turkey was an alright match.

I've enjoyed most of the game so far. Maybe I just have low standards :P

Spain probably have the best squad in the tournament. Any team that can leave Cesc on the bench has a lot of depth. (though they always do in midfield)

Still doubt they will win it

I don't think Spain will win it, but they do have a quality side.

I certainly hope they don't win because I recently told a Spanish fan that Spain didn't have a hope of winning.

this year Spain don't have Raul. He is/was a great player but he was like a square peg in a round hole when playing for Spain. You can't blame 1 player for Spain's underperformance but not having to fit him in has enabled a proper striking partnership backed by a midfiled with some muscle and skill to take the field. Spain likely to play France/Italy in the quarters  and should beat either of these on form. Then Holland, then the final. If they get that far they will be deserved winnners.

I can't believe Cesc is on the bench! 

my question about spain is can they actually perform against good teams in competitive games? with out looking at any statistics i get the impression that they impress against sh*tty teams, making people think that they really are something only to lose to an actual good team, e.g. 2006 they had an easy easy group only to get well beaten by a good french team.
they will top their group and go out in the quarter finals

That's exactly why i said i'll see it when i believe it.

2-1 vs Sweden.... Bit lucky to win that one

Not lucky at all, Sweden tried to sit back, keep it tight and close them down but Espana continued to attack and look for all 3 points an got their just rewards. 

There should have been at least one penalty for Spain too maybe the handball wasn't a clear cut pen but other refs have given them.  The flattening of Silva was definitely a pen!!!

A great result......

Completely agree Coxey.

Yea ok fair enough but if look at when the winning goal was actually scored...

Well, it was justice in my eyes...

should be hollland spain semi. thatl be a good one. thn a holland portugal final. thatl be even better. revenge for WC 06!

And a great winning goal it was........couldn't actually think of a better time to score the winner!!

Viva David Villa and Viva Espana.....

Amen to that

Vs Greece on Thursday.... Anyone have an idea what the teams gona look like...?

I'd expect mainly reserves, with maybe 2-3 regular starters thrown in among them.