Xabi Alonso celebrated his 100th cap with a goal in either
half as Spain beat France in a competitive game for the first time to book a
UEFA EURO 2012 semi-final against neighbours Portugal on Wednesday.
Les Bleus may have been the last team to eliminate Spain
from a major tournament – in the 2006 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals – but that
mantle must now be taken up by somebody else if Vicente del Bosque's charges
are not to retain their title. Alonso, one of five Spain starters also involved
from the off in that Hanover defeat six years ago, showed no battle scars and
duly made the difference with an emphatic first-half header and a late spot
kick.
Laurent Blanc is no soothsayer by trade, but the prescience
of his Friday press conference was impossible to ignore. He had called on his
side to ride out the opening 20 minutes or risk a stern punishment dished out
by their opponents; Les Bleus fell barely 90 seconds short.
Blanc had also dubbed Del Bosque's team "a delight to
watch" but he must have found their poise in possession more painful than
joyful. Short, sharp and purposeful on the ball, La Roja looked capable of
unpicking the French lock whenever they pleased. Alonso chanced his arm from
range early on but that is simply not his, or their, style – Spain were never
going to batter the door down, simply shimmy it open.
A reinforced France right – Anthony Réveillère and Mathieu
Debuchy – looked an unlikely weak spot, but Andrés Iniesta has always seen
things others do not. Réveillère had drifted inside from full-back and Iniesta
threaded the ball through to Jordi Alba, who shrugged off Debuchy and crossed
for Alonso to head down and across Hugo Lloris.
Though the goalscorer, considering the occasion, was a
worthy centurion of this particular red army, his midfield cohorts were no less
influential. France, by contrast, were compact as demanded but blunt and
lacking in numbers getting forward. Yohan Cabaye's first-half free-kick was
Iker Casillas's only notable save.
His France counterpart, Lloris, meanwhile, should have been
tested when Gerard Piqué headed over having been found in space from a corner.
Debuchy made the same mistake from an almost identical position 15 minutes into
the second period after Franck Ribéry had wriggled free on the left and crossed
precisely.
'Faux' centre-forward Cesc Fàbregas came off and traditional
No9 Fernando Torres came on, but the pattern continued. Spain did not have the
two-thirds possession the cerebral Blanc had predicted, but they had enjoyed
more than their fair share and, most importantly of all, used it with
characteristic wisdom.
As if to prove the point, a typically intricate move led to
the added-time penalty, dispatched consummately by Alonso, which iced the cake.
Spain, though, look to have plenty more in the tank – Paulo Bento's side
have been warned.
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