Spain put in the best team performance of the tournament thus far thrashing the hapless Ukrainians 4-0. It played the kind of nonstop, free-flowing soccer we expected to see from the Brazilians
yesterday in 90 minutes of total domination. Luis Garcia, David Villa, Marcos Senna and Fernando Torres were all excellent in the victory, and Torres scored what has to be the finest goal of the
tournament thus far: Barcelona defender Carles Puyol intercepted the ball at midfield, spun 360 degrees around the first defender, played a neat little one-two with Raul to get past the second, and he
then laid a cushioned header into the path of the onrushing Torres, who hammered the ball into the bottom corner in his stride. What an emphatic start from the perennial under-achievers, who were all
but written off by the Spanish press prior to the game despite an unbeaten streak that goes back to Euro 2004. The Ukraine is not a bad team by any means, by the way; many bookmakers put them on par
with the likes of Croatia or Serbia & Montenegro. But the Ukrainians wilted in the 92 degree heatAndriy Shevchenko had absolutely no impact on the game at alland certainly did not look like
second-favorites to qualify out of Group H.
Read the whole story at The Guardian »
