Spain scored three second-half goals Thursday to beat Russia 3-0 and reach the European Championship final, giving the team a chance to shed its status as football's biggest chokers.
Xavi Hernandez, Dani Guiza and David Silva scored a goal each to give the Spaniards a shot at their second European title when they play Germany on Sunday at Ernst Happel Stadium.
pain, which won the 1964 European tournament, had ended its run of five quarterfinal defeats by beating Italy in a penalty shootout Sunday, but it confirmed its title aspirations with its penetrative passing on a slick surface in the pouring rain against Russia.
"It was difficult, especially the first half. I think it was an extraordinary second half," Spain coach Luis Aragones said. "That's what we wanted, to be in the final. But there's an adversary called Germany, that is going to be interesting."
Spain is likely to face Germany without striker David Villa, who was injured while taking a free kick in the first half. Villa, the tournament's leading scorer with four goals, limped off the field and was replaced by Cesc Fabregas in the 34th minute.
"Villa will miss the final," said Aragones, who is reported to be taking over at Fenerbahce after the tournament. "It's not serious, but he'll miss the final because he has a pull."
Xavi scored the first goal in the 50th minute after an exchange of passes with Andres Iniesta, who eluded one defender before crossing the ball into the box for Xavi to side-foot past goalkeeper Igor Akinfeyev.
Two Spanish substitutes combined to make it 2-0 in the 73rd. Fabregas flicked a ball over the top and Guiza finished with the outside of his right foot high into the net.
Fabregas then slid a pass through for an unmarked Silva inside the box in the 82nd and he scored.
"The team pushed on and I think we dominated the match. I'm very happy about being in the final," said Iniesta, who was voted man of the match. "It's a match that we want to win."
Russia coach Guus Hiddink still has never taken a team past the semifinals, falling at that stage when leading the Netherlands at the 1998 World Cup and with South Korea four years later.
"It was their plan that they were going to make us tired so we couldn't make a fist of it in the second half," Hiddink said. "However, we can be proud of reaching where we did and of coming third. We faced really strong opposition tonight and they deserved to win."
Spain, which beat the Soviet Union 2-1 in the 1964 final in Madrid, had never lost to Russia in four previous matches - including a 4-1 win two weeks ago in the first round - and it didn't look like blemishing that record from the start at Ernst Happel Stadium.
Euro 2008 - Semifinals
* Euro 2008 - Semifinals
Russia was without central defender Denis Kolodin and substitute Dimtry Torbinski from the 3-1 extra-time win over the Netherlands on Saturday due to suspension from accumulated cards. Kolodin was replaced by Vasily Berezutsky.
Spain retained the same team that beat Italy in the shootout after a scoreless draw. It was the fourth time in five matches that coach Luis Aragones had fielded the same lineup, with the reserve players only getting their chance in a meaningless group win over Greece.
Spain striker Fernando Torres had the first chance, spinning inside the box in the sixth minute after getting a pass from Villa and forcing Akinfeyev into a save down low as lightning flashed in the night sky.
Five minutes later, with the game stretched due to Spain's crisp passing, Villa received the ball 25 meters (yards) out and hit a rising drive that Akinfeyev turned around the post.
Andrei Arshavin, who had scored in both games since returning from a two-match ban, had his first real involvement when he was taken down by Carles Puyol in the 16th. Forward partner Roman Pavlyuchenko couldn't keep the 30-meter (yard) free kick from only just going over the crossbar.
A one-two from a throw-in involving Torres in the 24th allowed Sergio Ramos to hit a speculative left-footed shot from near the right touchline that Akinfeyev comfortably held.
Spain was the more incisive with its passing in the first half, giving Iniesta, Villa and Torres half-chances that were ultimately ruined by either the slick surface, a poor final touch or the safe hands of Akinfeyev.
موضوع: spain reaches final after beating russia 
الخميس يونيو 26, 2008 4:30 pm
