Spain avoided becoming the first defending champion to fail to get a point in the next World Cup thanks to a 3-0 win over Australia.
David Villa, in his final international match, scored the opener, while
Fernando Torres and Juan Mata scored in the second half to secure the
result.
The first real chance of the
game for either team came in the 20th minute when Andrés Iniesta picked
out David Villa at the far post. Villa's volleyed effort sailed well
wide, but he was ruled offside anyway, even though it appeared he wasn't
on replays.
Three minutes later, Australian
goalkeeper Matthew Ryan denied Jordi Alba from short range after Spain
finally managed to put together a few passes and look dangerous. Alba's
shot was rushed just a bit, allowing Ryan to react and fight it off.
David Villa made a great run in
the 34th minute, working his way to the touchline on the left side of
the box before sending a ball across the face of goal. Despite having
teammates in the vicinity, no one was able to get a boot on the ball,
and it rolled through to no result.
Finally in the 36th minute,
Villa just decided to finish a chance himself and give Spain a 1-0 lead.
Juanfran worked down the right side, hesitating as long as he could to
allow Villa time to get in position. With the striker finally in place,
Juanfran crossed right to his feet and David Villa did the rest.
Spain doubled the lead in the
69th minute when Andrés Iniesta sliced the Australian defense in two
with a wonderful pass that found Fernando Torres in space behind the
back line. Torres did the rest, sliding a finish past Ryan to make it
2-0.
Juan Mata added a third goal in the 82nd minute.
by SB Nation / www.FlagWigs.com
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