Spain were the final team to qualify from the last-16 of the World Cup after their 1-0 victory over Portugal tonight.
Both sides were picked to be top contenders for this tournament with Spain priced as the favorites to pick up the trophy. Trading at just over Evens, and they were also the clear favorites to win this match.
Spain began very brightly with Torres and Villa both testing Eduardo early on. Portugal also had a few bites early on with Ronaldo thundering a Freekick at Casillas. The Portuguese also had the best chance of the first half when Meireles crossed in for Almeida who headed wide.
Spain didn’t take their first half form into the second but with sixty-three minutes gone they snatched the lead regardless, with tournament star David Villa – easily one of, if not the, best strikers in the world – latching onto a shot which rebounded off the crossbar to put Spain 1-0 up.
Portugal didn’t really do anything to get back into the game and Spain easily saw this one out. Towards the end Costa saw red for a weak challenge on Capdevilla who seemed to have influenced the ref’s decision when he went down clutching his face like he had been thumped.
A good game with surprisingly few goals. Spain should have an easier game in the Quarter Finals where they meet Paraguay. The tournament now takes a small break as we go one day without any games before the Quarter’s kickoff on Thursday.
