bookd.
Netherlands0 - 1Spain
MOTM: Xavi Hernández (#8). Casillas will be remembered for that save and Iniesta will be immortalised for that goal, but Xavi was just perfect for Spain throughout this grueling back-and-forth. 120 minutes of Netherlands failing to contain him. POOR: Arjen Robben (#11). 62’ will haunt this man forever.
Spain
Germany0 - 1SpainMOTM: Pedro Rodríguez (#18). Benching an underperforming Fernando Torres for Pedro will go down as one of the great tactical moves in World Cup history. Pedro’s link-up play and ball-carrying runs opened up the space for Spain to dominate a talented Germany side. HMs to Xavi, Puyol, Casillas, Ramos, and Iniesta. POOR: Piotr Trochowski (#15). Germany’s midfield sorely missed Thomas Müller this game, and they were getting danced around by Spain for at least an hour. Trochowski offered no creativity and (hindsight 20/20) a young Kroos should probably have started in his place.
Spain
Paraguay0 - 1SpainWhat a funny game. Three pens, two saved, one disallowed, all in the span of two minutes. Beautiful ball movement from Spain as always, though they were wasteful with their chances (as always) and should have been better against an underdog Paraguay side. MOTM: Iker Casillas (#1). What a brilliant performance, saved everything Paraguay could throw at him. HMs to Piqué (so intelligent) and David Villa (what a player for Spain). POOR: Nelson Valdez (#18) and Fernando Torres (#9). Both national strikers just couldn’t get their foot in the game and were rightfully subbed off.
SpainSpain1 - 0Portugal
MOTM: Xavi Hernández (#8). Nearly every progressive play from Spain ran through him. Brilliant passing and ball retention. Won the ball and created chances with accurate long balls. Shoutout David Villa who had a great game even before the winner. POOR: Cristiano Ronaldo (#7). Poor touches, misplaced crosses, so easily dispossessed, and ineffective in front of goal. At a time when half the world believed he was the best in the world, the winger was a non-factor for his nation and whose only semblance of threat came from “too far to think about” set-pieces.
Spain